Stimulation by Pearl of Mineralization and Biocompatibility of PLA

Abstract

Biodegradable materials used for bone repair have recently gained greater attention. The improvement of the mineralization rate and the biocompatibility of are critical. In this study, natural pearl powder is added to polylactic acid (PLA) to accelerate both two properties of PLA. The results show that the amount of hydroxyapatite (HA) deposition on PLA/pearl composite increased with pearl content increasing up to 15 wt%, especially at the beginning of mineralization. The HA is a poorly crystallized calcium-deficient type as indicated by FTIR, EDS, and XRD. Osteoblasts are used to evaluate cellular proliferation. An MTT assay reveals that composites are non-toxic and show better proliferation than pristine PLA. It is concluded that PLA/pearl could be more appropriate for bone repairs than PLA.

Pearl Powder—An Emerging Material for Biomedical Applications: A Review

“…Dai et al impregnated natural pearl powder into polylactic acid (PLA) scaffold and observed that HA deposition on PLA/pearl composite increased by up to 15 wt.%, particularly at the beginning of mineralization [ 72 ], suggesting that a PLA/pearl powder scaffold could be more beneficial for bone repair than PLA alone. In a related work, pearl powder was integrated into an electrospun PLA scaffold [ 73 ].…”

The Application of Pearls in Traditional Medicine of China and Their Chemical Constituents, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Clinical Research

“…For example, polylactic acid (PLA)/pearl or nacre powder scaffolds have two times higher compressive strength than PLA scaffolds alone and have a significantly stronger promoting effect on the proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells than PLA (Liu et al, 2013). Dai et al (2015) also showed that adding pearls to PLA helps the deposition of hydroxyapatite and accelerates the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells, which is a better bone repair material (Dai et al, 2015).…”

“…For example, polylactic acid (PLA)/pearl or nacre powder scaffolds have two times higher compressive strength than PLA scaffolds alone and have a significantly stronger promoting effect on the proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells than PLA ( Liu et al, 2013 ). Dai et al (2015) also showed that adding pearls to PLA helps the deposition of hydroxyapatite and accelerates the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells, which is a better bone repair material ( Dai et al, 2015 ). Another example is the nano-nacre/type I collagen composite scaffolds, which can also promote the growth of MC3T3-E1 cells and increase the related bone marker alkaline phosphatase activity and collagen expression level ( Xu J. H. et al, 2014 ).…”

“…The above bone repair composite materials have the characteristics of good biocompatibility, biological activity, and good three-dimensional structure. The existence of pearls not only lays a more solid foundation for the properties of composites but also provides better conditions for long-term cell proliferation in the osteogenic activity of some materials ( Dai et al, 2015 ).…”

Ultrafast bulk degradation of polylactic acid by artificially cultured diatom frustules

“…A biodegradable polymer is de ned as a material that can be fully degraded into carbon dioxide, methane and water, among which polylactic acid (PLA) is appealing in this regard due to its easy processing, green pathways and good biocompatibility 9,10 . However, its inherently slow and uncontrollable degradation rate remains today a serious shortcoming for widespread adoption [11][12][13] .…”