Biocompatibility and osteogenesis of calcium phosphate composite scaffolds containing simvastatin-loaded PLGA microspheres for bone tissue engineering

• Published in: Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2015-10, Vol.103 (10), p.3250-3258
• Main Authors: Zhang, Hao-Xuan, Xiao, Gui-Yong, Wang, Xia, Dong, Zhao-Gang, Ma, Zhi-Yong, Li, Lei, Li, Yu-Hua, Pan, Xin, Nie, Lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biocompatibility; Biomedical materials; bone defect; bone mesenchymal stem cells; Bone Substitutes - chemistry; bone tissue engineering; Bones; Calcium phosphate; Cells, Cultured; Lactic Acid - chemistry; Materials Testing; Microspheres; Morphology; Osteogenesis - drug effects; Polyglycolic Acid - chemistry; Rabbits; Scaffolds; simvastatin; Simvastatin - chemistry; Simvastatin - pharmacology; Surgical implants; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry
• ISSN: 1549-3296; 1552-4965
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.35463

By utilizing a modified solid/oil/water (s/o/w) emulsion solvent evaporation technique, calcium phosphate composite scaffolds containing simvastatin‐loaded PLGA microspheres (SIM‐PLGA‐CPC) were prepared in this study. We characterized the morphology, encapsulation efficiency and in vitro drug release of SIM‐loaded PLGA microspheres as well as the macrostructure, pore size, porosity and mechanical strength of the scaffolds. Rabbit bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were seeded onto SIM‐PLGA‐CPC scaffolds, and the proliferation, morphology, cell cycle and differentiation of BMSCs were investigated using the cell counting kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), flow cytometry, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and alizarin red S staining, respectively. The results revealed that SIM‐PLGA‐CPC scaffolds were biocompatible and osteogenic in vitro. To determine the in vivo biocompatibility and osteogenesis of the scaffolds, both pure PLGA‐CPC scaffolds and SIM‐PLGA‐CPC scaffolds were implanted in rabbit femoral condyles and microradiographically and histologically investigated. SIM‐PLGA‐CPC scaffolds exhibited good biocompatibility and could improve the efficiency of new bone formation. All these results suggested that the SIM‐PLGA‐CPC scaffolds fulfilled the basic requirements of bone tissue engineering scaffold and possessed application potentials in orthopedic surgery. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 103A: 3250–3258, 2015.