Mechanical and biological evaluation of a hydroxyapatite‐reinforced scaffold for bone regeneration

Abstract

With over 500,000 bone grafting procedures performed annually in the United States, the advancement of bone regeneration technology is at the forefront of medical research. Many tissue‐engineered approaches have been explored to develop a viable synthetic bone graft substitute, but a major challenge is achieving a load‐bearing graft that appropriately mimics the mechanical properties of native bone. In this study, sintered hydroxyapatite (HAp) was used to structurally reinforce a scaffold and yield mechanical properties comparable to native bone. HAp was packed into a cylindrical framework and processed under varying conditions to maximize its mechanical properties. The resulting HAp columns were further tested in a 6‐week degradation study to determine their physical and mechanical response. The cellular response of sintered HAp was determined using a murine preosteoblast cell line, MC3T3‐E1. Cell viability and morphology were studied over a one‐week period and MC3T3‐E1 differentiation was determined by measuring the alkaline phosphatase levels. Finite element analysis was used to determine the columns' geometric configuration and arrangement within our previously developed composite bone scaffold. It was determined that incorporating four cylindrical HAp columns, fabricated under 44 MPa of pressure and sintered at 1200°C for 5 hr, led to load‐bearing properties that match the yield strength of native whole bone. These preliminary results indicate that the incorporation of a mechanically enhanced HAp structural support system is a promising step toward developing one of the first load‐bearing bone scaffolds that can also support cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 732–741, 2019.

Characterization of a prevascularized biomimetic tissue engineered scaffold for bone regeneration

“…There was no significant difference between the two scaffold groups, indicating that vascularization of the cortical channels does not affect the osteoinduction of other areas of the scaffold. It can be argued that the levels of ALP expression shown here are only qualitative, but these observations match quantitative data seen when MSC are seeded onto mineralized structures/hydroxyapatite in our previous work (Patel et al, ).…”

Antibacterial graphene‐based hydroxyapatite/chitosan coating with gentamicin for potential applications in bone tissue engineering

“…An interesting choice for bone tissue regeneration coating material is hydroxyapatite (HAP), due to its biocompatibility and similarity with bone tissue (Sarkar & Lee, 2015). HAP is a bioactive ceramic material, characterized by high biocompatibility and ability to form a direct chemical bond with bone tissue (Patel et al, 2019). However, due to its brittleness and poor adhesion properties it is necessary to combine HAP with an adequate polymer to serve as a binder.…”

A GelMA-PEGDA-nHA Composite Hydrogel for Bone Tissue Engineering

“…As an implant, HA has good stability, biocompatibility, and degradability. HA can not only promote the adhesion, proliferation of osteoblasts, and extracellular matrix secretion, but also form chemical bonds with the body’s own bones [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Therefore, it has the effect of repairing bone defects.…”