Three-Dimensional High-Porosity Chitosan/Honeycomb Porous Carbon/Hydroxyapatite Scaffold with Enhanced Osteoinductivity for Bone Regeneration

Abstract

Three-dimensional honeycomb porous carbon (HPC) has attracted increasing attention in bioengineering due to excellent mechanical properties and a high surface-to-volume ratio. In this paper, a three-dimensional chitosan (CS)/honeycomb porous carbon/hydroxyapatite composite was prepared by nano-sized hydroxyapatite (nHA) on the HPC surface in situ deposition, dissolved in chitosan solution, and vacuum freeze-dried. The structure and composition of CS/HPC/nHA were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron miscroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the porosity, swelling ratio, and mechanical properties of the scaffold were also tested. The as-prepared scaffolds possess hierarchical pores and organic–inorganic components, which are similar in composition and structure to bone tissues. The synthesized composite scaffold has high porosity and a certain mechanical strength. By culturing mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on the surface of the scaffold, it was confirmed that the scaffold facilitated its growth and promoted its differentiation into the osteogenesis direction. In vivo experiments further demonstrate that the CS/HPC/nHA composite scaffold has a significant advantage in promoting bone formation in the bone defect area. All the results suggested that the CS/HPC/nHA scaffolds have great application prospect in bone tissue engineering.

Applications of Ceramic/Graphene Composites and Hybrids

“…Organic/inorganic multicomponent hybrids of GO and HA and biopolymers (such as chitosan, collagen, or agarose) have also been developed to achieve good cytocompatibility and better hydrophilic and mechanical properties [ 243 , 244 , 245 , 246 , 247 , 248 ]. These composites displayed improved tensile strength and high in vitro bioactivity, enabled MC3T3-E1 cell adhesion and proliferation, and showed greater osteogenesis.…”

“…Zhao et al [ 246 ] prepared CS/nano-HA/GO particles scaffolds by an in-situ crystallization process, in which a Ca(NO 3 ) 2 and K 2 HPO 4 aqueous solution was added to a solution of CS in acetic acid, and mixed with a GO suspension; finally, the CS/nano-HA/GO scaffolds were obtained by treating with an alkaline solution. On the other hand, a 3D porous CS/nano-HA/carbon scaffold was developed by in situ depositing HA nanoparticles on the porous carbon surface and immersion in chitosan solution before freeze-drying [ 247 ]. The freeze-drying method was also used by Liang et al [ 248 ] to fabricate porous nano-HA/collagen (nHAC)-based biodegradable scaffolds with different amounts of GO (nHAC/PLGA/GO).…”

<p>Applications of Graphene and Its Derivatives in Bone Repair: Advantages for Promoting Bone Formation and Providing Real-Time Detection, Challenges and Future Prospects</p>

“…GDs could be introduced into different kinds of substrates, such as metals, [130][131][132] inorganic nonmetals, [133][134][135][136] natural polymers [137][138][139] and synthetic polymers [140][141][142][143] to prepare bone repair materials with improved performance, as shown in Table 3. In this subsection, the updated progress on research and development of those materials was reviewed.…”

3D-Printed Poly(ε-Caprolactone)/Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds Modified with Alkaline Hydrolysis Enhance Osteogenesis In Vitro

“…Many approaches have been reported to improve cell function. In particular, hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tricalcium phosphate are indispensable elements for bone tissue regeneration and are known as materials that promote bone cell adhesion and osteoconduction and osteoinduction [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Due to these advantages, they have become popular as bone grafting materials in clinical practice.…”