Surface Tailoring of 3D Scaffolds to Promote Osteogenic Differentiation

Abstract

Customized bone scaffolds with osteogenic activities are desired for the regenerative repair of large-scale or irregularly shaped bone defects. This study developed a facile method to create osteogenic surfaces on three-dimensional (3D) printed scaffolds through coating-induced mineralization. The coating was synthesized using chemical vapor deposition of a polyelectrolyte containing oppositely charged groups. The opposite charges on the 3D scaffold played a crucial role in promoting the formation of nanoapatites without agglomeration, resulting in the retention of micro-and nanoscale pore openings needed for preosteoblasts to proliferate, differentiate, and migrate. The nanoapatite scaffold exhibited significant enhancement in osteoinductivity with a 107% increase in alkaline phosphatase expression and a 163% increase in osteocalcin activity compared to the pristine scaffold. The nanoapatite scaffold provided cues for preosteoblasts to grow along aligned features and migrate collectively. The findings of this study demonstrate the synergistic effect of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes and mineralized nanoapatites on promoting osteogenic activities on scaffold surfaces.

Trends in bioactivity: inducing and detecting mineralization of regenerative polymeric scaffolds

“…Song et al reported formation of a polyelectrolyte coating via iCVD onto HAp scaffolds that was then exposed to supersaturated HAp, resulting in mineralized scaffolds that promoted osteogenesis. 99 …”

Designing Organic and Hybrid Surfaces and Devices with Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD)

“…Surface-modified bone implants are envisioned to advance the regenerative repair of bone defects. [109,110] The organic functional groups in iCVD polymers represent an opportunity to tailor the surface chemistry of the implants. As desired for bone regrowth, an iCVD surface chemistry was designed to improve mineralization and cell growth.…”

“…A–C) Mixed charged iCVD surfaces conformally modify 3D bone implant scaffolds for improved mineralization and cell growth (Section 10.1), Reproduced with permission. [ 110 ] Copyright 2023, American Chemical Society. D) Surface immobilization of the antimicrobial enzyme lysozyme on a crosslinked iCVD zwitterionic copolymer via the nucleophilic substitution of pentafluorophenyl groups (Section 10.4), Reproduced with permission.…”

“…Design of iCVD polymers for controlling biological interactions at surfaces. A-C) Mixed charged iCVD surfaces conformally modify 3D bone implant scaffolds for improved mineralization and cell growth (Section 10.1), Reproduced with permission [110]. Copyright 2023, American Chemical Society.…”

Bionic layered hydrogel with high strength for excellent lubrication and load capacity

“…Synthetic hydrogels are widely used in various biomedical applications including biomimetic tissue engineering and targeted drug delivery, due to that their chemical and mechanical properties can be tuned to resemble natural tissues. [1][2][3][4][5] Commonly, the conventional hydrogels, such as single network hydrogels with high water content (>90%), have excellent strength and moduli in the order of kPa. It is well known that hydrogel network can be covalently or physically crosslinked and exhibits outstanding mechanical property with fracture strengths and moduli on the order of MPa, making hydrogels as potential candidates for cartilage replacement.…”