Design and evaluation of nano-hydroxyapatite/poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels coated with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/nano-hydroxyapatite/poly(vinyl alcohol) scaffolds for cartilage repair

Abstract

BackgroundPoly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels have been widely used in synthetic cartilage materials. However, limitations of PVA hydrogels such as poor biomechanics and limited cell ingrowth remain challenges in this field.MethodsThis work aimed to design novel nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HA)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels coated with a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/nano-HA/PVA scaffold to counter the limitations of PVA hydrogels. The core, comprising nano-HA/PVA hydrogel, had the primary role of bearing the mechanical load. The peripheral structure, composed of PLGA/nano-HA/PVA, was designed to favor interaction with surrounding cartilage.ResultsThe double-layer HA/PVA hydrogel coated with PLGA/HA/PVA scaffold was successfully prepared using a two-step molding method, and the mechanical properties and biocompatibility were characterized. The mechanical properties of the novel PLGA/HA/PVA scaffold modified HA/PVA hydrogel were similar to those of native cartilage and showed greater sensitivity to compressive stress than to tensile stress. Rabbit chondrocytes were seeded in the composites to assess the biocompatibility and practicability in vitro. The results showed that the peripheral component comprising 30 wt% PLGA/5 wt% HA/15 wt% PVA was most conducive to rabbit chondrocyte adhesion and proliferation.ConclusionsThe study indicated that the double-layer HA/PVA hydrogel coated with PLGA/HA/PVA scaffold has the potential for cartilage repair.

Advanced Hydrogels With Nanoparticle Inclusion for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

“…At the same time, the degradation process of nHA does not produce harmful substances. Proposed composite hydrogels with nHA for the repair of cartilage defects in rabbits, and they found that composite hydrogels had elevated mechanical properties, and were conducive to the adhesion and proliferation of seeded rabbit chondrocytes, with promising potential for the repair of cartilage defects Su et al (2019) . Zhu and coworkers adopted nHA and polylactic acid to prepare cartilage scaffolds and used BMSCs as progenitor cells to repair rabbit full-thickness cartilage defects, the histological and immunohistochemical analyses showed that the cartilage defect was effectively repaired with a large amount of extracellular matrix produced Zhu et al (2017) .…”

Functionalized Porous Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications: A Focused Review

“…The composite hydrogel provides better compressive strength and enhanced biocompatibility compared to the PVA hydrogels. Additionally, in vitro studies were carried on rabbits by implanting rabbit chondrocytes in the composite hydrogel and the better composition was found to be 30 wt % poly­(lactic- co -glycolic acid), 5 wt % HAP, and 15 wt % PVA, which shows enhanced mechanical properties, cell adhesion, and cellular proliferation …”

PVA‐Based Hydrogels: Promising Candidates for Articular Cartilage Repair

“…Usually inorganic materials that are silicon‐based (e.g., methyl dimethoxy silane, [ 32 ] methacrylate‐functionalized silica nanoparticle (MSi), [ 65 ] bioactive glass (BG) [ 30 ] ), carbon‐based (e.g., graphene oxide, [ 75 ] hydroxyapatite (HA) [ 31,80 ] ), and metal oxide‐based. [ 68,81 ] These nanocomposites can be divided into nanoparticles, nanofibers, nanosheets, and nanotubes according to their different shapes.…”

“…Su et al. [ 80 ] prepared a double‐layer hydrogel by two‐step molding method, whose coating is poly(lactic‐ co ‐glycolic acid) (PLGA)/nano‐HA/PVA scaffold and the core is HA/PVA hydrogel. Meng et al.…”