Recent Advances of Pullulan and/or Dextran-Based Materials for Bone Tissue Engineering Strategies in Preclinical Studies: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Bone tissue engineering (BTE) strategies are increasingly investigated to overcome the limitations of currently used bone substitutes and to improve the bone regeneration process. Among the natural polymers used for tissue engineering, dextran and pullulan appear as natural hydrophilic polysaccharides that became promising biomaterials for BTE. This systematic review aimed to present the different published applications of pullulan and dextran-based biomaterials for BTE. An electronic search in Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases was conducted. Selection of articles was performed following PRISMA guidelines. This systematic review led to the inclusion of 28 articles on the use of pullulan and/or dextran-based biomaterials to promote bone regeneration in preclinical models. Sixteen studies focused on dextran-based materials for bone regeneration, six on pullulan substitutes and six on the combination of pullulan and dextran. Several strategies have been developed to provide bone regeneration capacity, mainly through their fabrication processes (functionalization methods, cross-linking process), or the addition of bioactive elements. We have summarized here the strategies employed to use the polysaccharide scaffolds (fabrication process, composition, application usages, route of administration), and we highlighted their relevance and limitations for BTE applications.

Tuning of renewable sponge‐like polyurethane physical‐chemical and morphological properties using the pullulan as a reactive filler

“…Some of these polysaccharides such as starch, cellulose, carrageenan, or alginate are industrially extracted on large scale for applications as stabilizers, excipients, thickeners, and gelling agents 3 . They often show biocompatibility, bioactivity, and biodegradability, sharing similar structures to the natural extracellular matrix 4,5 . Among the several resources for the synthesis of NPSs, the microbial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) have attracted much attention scientific community given their potential for food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and biomedical applications 6–8 …”

“…An exciting property of polymeric materials is their ability to be efficiently designed according to the desired three‐dimensional structure, such as hydrogels, macroporous scaffolds, microspheres, or micro‐molded matrices, films, sponges, and foams 4,7,16–18 . In this context, the employment of Pull for these devices' fabrication is continuously increasing due to its outstanding antimicrobial property, which can act as carriers for oral administration of therapeutic drugs, osteosynthesis materials (plates, pins, screws), and scaffolds for tissue engineering 19–21 .…”

Development of Novel Polysaccharide Membranes for Guided Bone Regeneration: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluations

“…Polysaccharides are one type of natural polymers composed of glucosidic units [16] and their application in tissue engineering is emerging [17][18][19]. In particular, pullulan and dextran are two polymers that showed promising results in the field of bone regeneration since they share similarities with bone extracellular matrix components.…”

“…Pullulan/dextran-based microbeads have shown great osteogenic properties in vivo using a femoral condyle defect in rats, and in sinus floor augmentation procedures in sheep [20][21][22]. It has also been established that these materials, free from osteogenic cells, are able to retain growth factors, thus boosting osteogenesis [19].…”

“…To our knowledge, only one study by Miyahara et al suggested the use of pullulan to provide a barrier membrane for GBR application [19,25]. Compared to a commercially available collagenic membrane, the pullulan-derived membrane showed higher bone formation after four weeks in a mice calvaria bone defect.…”