title: Fabricating a pearl/PLGA composite scaffold by the low-temperature deposition manufacturing technique for bone tissue engineering.
abstract: Here we developed a composite scaffold of pearl/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (pearl/PLGA) utilizing the low-temperature deposition manufacturing (LDM). LDM makes it possible to fabricate scaffolds with designed microstructure and macrostructure, while keeping the bioactivity of biomaterials by working at a low temperature. Process optimization was carried out to fabricate a mixture of pearl powder, PLGA and 1,4-dioxane with the designed hierarchical structures, and freeze-dried at a temperature of -40 degrees C. Scaffolds with square and designated bone shape were fabricated by following the 3D model. Marrow stem cells (MSCs) were seeded on the pearl/PLGA scaffold and then cultured in a rotating cell culture system. The adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of MSCs into osteoblasts were determined using scanning electronic microscopy, WST-1 assay, alkaline phosphatase activity assay, immunofluorescence staining and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that the composite scaffold had high porosity (81.98 +/- 3.75%), proper pore size (micropores: <10 microm; macropore: 495 +/- 54 microm) and mechanical property (compressive strength: 0.81 +/- 0.04 MPa; elastic modulus: 23.14 +/- 0.75 MPa). The pearl/PLGA scaffolds exhibited better biocompatibility and osteoconductivity compared with the tricalcium phosphate/PLGA scaffold. All these results indicate that the pearl/PLGA scaffolds fulfill the basic requirements of bone tissue engineering scaffold.
authors.affiliation: Center Laboratory of Biomanufacture and Tissue Engineering, Hang Zhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, People's Republic of China. xumingen@tsinghua.edu.cn
authors.forename: Mingen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yanlei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hairui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suo
authors.forename: Yongnian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qiujun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yakun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D018786:Bone Substitutes / Q000737:chemistry; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005269:Femur / Q000166:cytology; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D016062:Porosity; D011817:Rabbits; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013696:Temperature; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D024042:Collagen Type I; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase