title: Incorporation of copper into chitosan scaffolds promotes bone regeneration in rat calvarial defects.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a copper loaded chitosan scaffold on bone regeneration in critical-sized calvarial defects in rats. Chitosan scaffolds and copper-chitosan scaffolds were fabricated and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Chitosan and copper-chitosan scaffolds were implanted into 5 mm diameter critical-sized calvarial defects in Fisher 344 male rats. Empty defects (no scaffolds) were included as a control. After 4 weeks, the rats were sacrificed for microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) and histological analysis of new bone tissue development. Microscopy images revealed the uniformly porous structure of chitosan and copper-chitosan scaffolds. Significant bone regeneration was noted in the defects treated with copper-chitosan scaffolds when evaluated using micro-CT and histological analysis, when compared with other groups tested. On analysis of the micro-CT scans, an eleven-fold and a two-fold increase in the new bone volume/total volume (BV/TV) % was found in defects treated with the copper-chitosan scaffolds, when compared to empty defects and chitosan scaffolds, respectively. This study demonstrated the suitability of copper-crosslinked chitosan scaffolds for bone tissue engineering and provides the first evidence that inclusion of copper ions in scaffolds can enhance tissue regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutics and Translational Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa, 52242.
authors.forename: Sheetal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: D'Mello
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242.
authors.forename: Satheesh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Elangovan
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Ryan D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: D Rick
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sumner
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutics and Translational Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa, 52242.|Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242.
authors.forename: Aliasger K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Salem
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D017102:Fracture Healing; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D012886:Skull / Q000293:injuries*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: biodegradable scaffolds; bone regeneration; chitosan; copper; tissue engineering