The increasing aging of the population has elevated bone
defects
to a significant threat to human life and health. Aerogel, a biomimetic
material similar to an extracellular matrix (ECM), is considered an
effective material for the treatment of bone defects. However, most
aerogel scaffolds suffer from immune rejection and poor anti-inflammatory
properties and are not well suited for human bone growth. In this
study, we used electrospinning to prepare flexible ZnO-SiO2 nanofibers with different zinc concentrations and further assembled
them into three-dimensional composite aerogel scaffolds. The prepared
scaffolds exhibited an ordered pore structure, and chitosan (CS) was
utilized as a cross-linking agent with aspirin (ASA). Interestingly,
the 1%ZnO-SiO2/CS@ASA scaffolds not only exhibited good
biocompatibility, bioactivity, anti-inflammation, and better mechanical
properties but also significantly promoted vascularization and osteoblast
differentiation in vitro. In the mouse cranial defect
model, the BV/TV data showed a higher osteogenesis rate in the 1%ZnO-SiO2/CS group (10.94 ± 0.68%) and the 1%ZnO-SiO2/CS@ASA group (22.76 ± 1.83%), compared with the control group
(5.59 ± 2.08%), and in vivo studies confirmed
the ability of 1%ZnO-SiO2/CS@ASA to promote in situ regeneration
of new bone. This may be attributed to the fact that Si4+, Zn2+, and ASA released from 1%ZnO-SiO2/CS@ASA
scaffolds can promote angiogenesis and bone formation by stimulating
the interaction between endothelial cells (ECs) and BMSCs, as well
as inducing macrophage differentiation to the M2 type and downregulating
the expression of pro-inflammatory factor (TNF-α) to modulate
local inflammatory response. These exciting results and evidence suggest
that it provides a new and effective strategy for the treatment of
bone defects.