The prospective opportunities offered by magnetic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering: a review

Abstract

Magnetic scaffolds are becoming increasingly attractive in tissue engineering, due to their ability to enhance bone tissue formation by attracting soluble factors, such as growth factors, hormones and polypeptides, directly to the implantation site, as well as their potential to improve the fixation and stability of the implant. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that the synergistic effects of magnetic scaffolds and magnetic fields can promote bone repair and regeneration. In this manuscript we review the recent innovations in bone tissue engineering that exploit magnetic biomaterials combined with static magnetic fields to enhance bone cell adhesion and proliferation, and thus bone tissue growth.

Synergistic Effects of Novel Superparamagnetic/Upconversion HA Material and Ti/Magnet Implant on Biological Performance and Long‐Term In Vivo Tracking

“…Some studies have reported that the use of SMF or a combination of paramagnetic materials may promote cell proliferation and differentiation . Although the proliferation trend in MG63 cells reflects a continuous increase as the culturing time is increased, the data in Figure indicate some decrease in the trend of cell proliferation in the presence of HYH‐Fe materials when compared to the control and pure HA samples from day 4 to day 7.…”

“…However, SMF did facilitate new bone growth around the Ti implant from 1 to 3 months, as shown in Figure for the HA/Ti‐magnet group (Figure e vs Figure g) and for the HYH‐0.5Fe/Ti‐magnet group (Figure f vs Figure h); the latter group also exhibited synergistic effects of SMF and superparamagnetic HYH‐0.5Fe particles due to the improved new bone formation (Figure f) and enhanced push‐out/shear strength (Figure c). The synergistic promotion of bone regeneration and repair have also been observed for combinations of magnetic scaffolds and static magnetic fields 8a,19. One reason for the synergistic effects could be the interaction of the magnet in the Ti implant with the HYH‐Fe particles, which might exert weak but sustained stress on the growing bone tissue.…”

“…There are some reports claiming that SMF can produce strong pro‐osteogenic properties that lead to osteoblast differentiation, the enhancement of wound and bone healing after fractures, and the improvement of neovascularization processes . SMF is a nonchanging vector field, and the use of a moderate‐intensity SMF (1 mT to 1 T) has been suggested to promote the formation of new bone, to prevent the decrease of bone mineral density, and to induce metabolic activity . NdFeB magnets and some ferrite magnets which generate relatively weak static magnetic fields are considered safe by the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) 7b,9.…”

The Pulsed Electron Deposition Technique for Biomedical Applications: A Review

“…Besides, the deposition of bioactive or fully biomimetic coatings and the promising results obtained from the in vitro tests in terms of bioactivity, mechanical properties, and adhesion, certainly represent a valuable starting point for further in vivo investigations, aside from a novel promising strategy for endowing bio-inert implantable scaffolds with novel functional properties [104,105].…”

Fabrication of CNT/ION hybrids and their impact on the biomedical applicability of PCL‐based composite films

“…For example, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered as promising materials for bone RM, due to their good mechanical, electrical and thermal properties, and dimensions (nm diameter and μm length), which correspond to the size of collagen fibrils . In turn, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) embedded in polymer matrices are reported to yield magnetic scaffold with enhanced ability to promote bone regeneration and improve fixation of implanted biomaterial through external magnetic field stimulation .…”