Hydrolytic degradation and cytotoxicity of poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes for bone regeneration

Abstract

Biodegradable poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) scaffolds produced by thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) are studied for bone regeneration. Their magnetic properties, cytotoxicity, and in vitro degradation are investigated. Certain properties are analyzed at 37 C over 16 weeks in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution, as a function of degradation time: morphology, mass loss, pH value of PBS, and thermal behavior. The presence of small quantities of nanotubes in the scaffolds, ≤0.5 wt %, leads to a weak magnetic response although the PLGA was diamagnetic. The incorporation of MWCNTs in the scaffolds generated a morphology and a very different process of in vitro degradation than might be expected in a PLGA scaffold. The in vitro degradation process started on week 13 and rapidly advanced, although the structural integrity of the scaffolds was maintained and no collapse of the structure occurred. Cytotoxicity tests on the samples showed cytotoxicity behavior at concentrations of over 0.3 wt % MWCNTs.

Applications of Carbon Nanotubes in Bone Tissue Regeneration and Engineering: Superiority, Concerns, Current Advancements, and Prospects

“…Carbon nanotube-based magnetic composite nano-particles can effectively combine magnetic targeting technology with biological therapy, providing new theoretical basis for targeted therapy. More importantly, CNTs decorated with Fe 3 O 4 showed enhanced biocompatibility characteristics that had a positive effect on cell behavior when exposed to an external magnetic field [94,95,96].…”

Mechanical, morphological, thermal properties and hydrolytic degradation behavior of polylactic acid/polypropylene carbonate blends prepared by solvent casting

“…[ 25 ] The nature and mechanisms of degradation process include biodegradation, [ 26 ] enzymatic degradation, [ 27 ] hydrolytic degradation, [ 28‐30 ] and in vitro degradation. [ 31 ] However, most of the researchers have concentrated on hydrolytic degradation.…”

Recent Progress on Biodegradable Tissue Engineering Scaffolds Prepared by Thermally-Induced Phase Separation (TIPS)

“…Polyester-based scaffolds reinforced with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have recently been produced by TIPS [ 19 , 243 , 244 ]. Possessing a wide variety of properties such as electrical, thermal, mechanical and structural, MWCNTs have been reported as proper candidates for biomedical applications [ 245 ].…”

“…Various synthetic and natural biomaterials have been widely investigated as scaffolding materials in tissue engineering fields [ 11 ]. Among them, aliphatic polyesters such as polylactide (PLA) [ 12 , 13 , 14 ], polyglycolide (PGA) [ 15 , 16 ], polycaprolactone (PCL) [ 17 , 18 ] and their copolymers like poly(lactide- co -glycolide) (PLGA) [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], poly( l -lactide- co -caprolactone) (PLCL) [ 23 ], poly-(glycolide- co -caprolactone (PGCL) [ 24 ] and poly( l -lactide- co -glycolide- co -ε-caprolactone) (PLLGC) [ 25 ] have received significant scientific attention due to their good biocompatibility and biodegradability. Furthermore, most of them have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for certain clinical applications [ 26 , 27 ].…”