Ultrasound-driven electrical stimulation based on 3D hierarchical porous piezoelectric nanofiber-aerogel scaffold promotes bone defect repair

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2023-08, Vol.470, p.144305, Article 144305
• Main Authors: Chen, Zhengrong, Zheng, Jiaqi, Pei, Xiaomin, Sun, Shuang, Cai, Jinhong, Liu, Yang, Wang, Yunming, Zheng, Li, Zhou, Huamin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3D nanofiber-aerogel scaffold; Bone regeneration; Electric microenvironment rehabilitation; Hierarchical porous structure
• ISSN: 1385-8947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2023.144305

•A biodegradable nanofiber-aerogel scaffold with hierarchical porous structure and rehabilitated electrical microenvironment were constructed.•The nanofiber-aerogel scaffold provides 3D space and fibrous surface for BMSCs recruitment, attachment and proliferation.•The US-driven electric stimulation based on piezoelectric scaffolds accelerated osteogenesis.•The scaffolds reached a high BV/TV value of 66% in a rat shin-bone defect model after 8-week implantation. Electroactive scaffolds with three-dimension (3D) hierarchical porous structure have demonstrated immense potential in tissue repair and regeneration by providing an electrical microenvironment at bone defect sites. Herein, we designed a biodegradable nanofiber-aerogel scaffold with hierarchical porous structure and rehabilitated electrical microenvironment for accelerated bone regeneration. Incorporating piezoelectrical ZnO/polyhydroxybutyrate nanofibers and chitosan into three-dimensional porous structure, the nanofiber-aerogel scaffold with extracellular matrix (ECM)-like structure effectively facilitated adhesion, migration and recruitment of stem cells, which also rehabilitated electric microenvironment for accelerating osteogenic differentiation under controllable ultrasonic (US) stimulation. A series of biological experiments in vitro and in vivo had been performed to verify osteogenic performance of nanofiber-aerogel scaffolds. This work highlights the potential application of nanofiber-aerogel scaffold processing ECM-like structure and rehabilitating electrical microenvironment in the therapy of bone defects.