title: Histological evaluation of osteogenesis of 3D-printed poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) scaffolds in a rabbit model.
abstract: Utilizing a suitable combination of lactide and glycolide in a copolymer would optimize the degradation rate of a scaffold upon implantation in situ. Moreover, 3D printing technology enables customizing the shape of the scaffold to biometric data from CT and MRI scans. A previous in vitro study has shown that novel 3D-printed poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) scaffolds had good biocompatibility and mechanical properties comparable with human cancellous bone, while they could support proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of osteoblasts. Based on the previous study, this study evaluated PLGA scaffolds for bone regeneration within a rabbit model. The scaffolds were implanted at two sites on the same animal, within the periosteum and within bi-cortical bone defects on the iliac crest. Subsequently, the efficacy of bone regeneration within the implanted scaffolds was evaluated at 4, 12 and 24 weeks post-surgery through histological analysis. In both the intra-periosteum and iliac bone defect models, the implanted scaffolds facilitated new bone tissue formation and maturation over the time course of 24 weeks, even though there was initially observed to be little tissue ingrowth within the scaffolds at 4 weeks post-surgery. Hence, the 3D-printed porous PLGA scaffolds investigated in this study displayed good biocompatibility and are osteoconductive in both the intra-periosteum and iliac bone defect models.
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119074.
authors.forename: Zigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Xianfeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Boon Chin
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Heng
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Jin Fei
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism; D006653:Histology; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010012:Osteogenesis; D010521:Periosteum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011817:Rabbits; D013997:Time Factors; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid