Composite Graded Melt Electrowritten Scaffolds for Regeneration of the Periodontal Ligament-to-Bone Interface

Abstract

Periodontitis is a ubiquitous chronic inflammatory, bacteria-triggered oral disease affecting the adult population. If left untreated, periodontitis can lead to severe tissue destruction, eventually resulting in tooth loss. Despite previous efforts in clinically managing the disease, therapeutic strategies are still lacking. Herein, melt electrowriting (MEW) is utilized to develop a compositionally and structurally tailored graded scaffold for regeneration of the periodontal ligament-to-bone interface. The composite scaffolds, consisting of fibers of polycaprolactone (PCL) and fibers of PCL-containing magnesium phosphate (MgP) were fabricated using MEW. To maximize the bond between bone (MgP) and ligament (PCL) regions, we evaluated two different fiber architectures in the interface area. These were a crosshatch pattern at a 0/90°angle and a random pattern. MgP fibrous scaffolds were able to promote in vitro bone formation even in culture media devoid of osteogenic supplements. Mechanical properties after MgP incorporation resulted in an increase of the elastic modulus and yield stress of the scaffolds, and fiber orientation in the interfacial zone affected the interfacial toughness. Composite graded MEW scaffolds enhanced bone fill when they were implanted in an in vivo periodontal fenestration defect model in rats. The presence of an interfacial zone allows coordinated regeneration of multitissues, as indicated by higher expression of bone, ligament, and cementoblastic markers compared to empty defects. Collectively, MEW-fabricated scaffolds having compositionally and structurally tailored zones exhibit a good mimicry of the periodontal complex, with excellent regenerative capacity and great potential as a defect-specific treatment strategy.

Melt Electrowriting of Nylon‐12 Microfibers with an Open‐Source 3D Printer

“…Considering the dimensions of the heat block and nozzle, the volume of molten material before extrusion was estimated to be between 50 and 55 mm 3 . The processing conditions for the tubes, including a heating temperature of 230 °C, collector speed of 100 mm min −1 , and flow rate of 0.28 μL min −1 , result in nylon-12 fibers a diameter of 60 μm (Table 1).…”

Gradient Biomolecular Immobilization of 3D Structured Poly‐ɛ‐caprolactone Biomaterials toward Functional Engineered Tissue

“…Moreover, the composite-graded MEW scaffolds exhibited excellent regenerative capacity and showed potential as a defect-specific treatment strategy in an in vivo periodontal fenestration defect model. [8] The study by Meng et al focused on the development of a reinforced biomimetic hydrogel for bone regeneration tissue model. The researchers propose a composite scaffold that combines a high-precision poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) lattice fabricated using MEW with gelatin/genipin/bioglass hydrogel with improved interconnectivity, storage modulus, and in vitro osteoinduction/conduction capability.…”

“…These kinds of scaffolds help to guide the cell growth in the direction of gradient immobilized over the scaffold. This will lead to the fabrication of in vitro model of different tissue as previously discussed in the literature for bone, [8][9][10][11][12] muscle, [14,15] nerve, [18,19] cartilage, [20,21] vascular, [13] acetabular labrum, [16] and meniscus. [17] This technique opens up a new avenue to utilize the architectural design variable in the favor of biological outcome by controlling the amount of attached EGF into the scaffolds and can be used for fabrication of in vitro model of tissue and tested in vivo in future.…”

“…Moreover, the composite‐graded MEW scaffolds exhibited excellent regenerative capacity and showed potential as a defect‐specific treatment strategy in an in vivo periodontal fenestration defect model. [ 8 ] The study by Meng et al. focused on the development of a reinforced biomimetic hydrogel for bone regeneration tissue model.…”

Polycaprolactone-based scaffolds for guided tissue regeneration in periodontal therapy: A systematic review

“…The shortest distance between the CEJ and the bone crest was obtained in the PCL ZnO 0.5% membrane (p < 0.05). Golafshan et al 26 1. Control (empty) releasing of osteo-inductive molecular signals to the extracellular environment.…”