Preparation and in-vitro evaluation of biodegradable magnetic scaffolds containing phosphated polycaprolactone for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Introduction: Reconstruction of the damaged bone is a striking challenge in the medical field. Bone grafts as current treatment are associated with inherent limitations; hence, bone tissue engineering as an alternative therapeutic approach has been considered in the recent decades.Aims: The goal of the present study was to design and preparationa highly bioactive engineered scaffolds for growth, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human Dental Pulp Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Methods: In this study, Phosphorylated polymer and magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by NMR, FT-IR, TEM, and DLS instruments. The synthetic polymer, MNPs, and gelatin were mixed then freeze-dried to prepare a porous magnetic scaffold. The phosphorylated polymer was combined with collagen to fabrication a hybrid scaffold. Morphology of scaffolds observed by SEM, Density, porosity, swelling ratio, degradability, and mechanical behavior of the scaffold were assessed. Biological responses of hDPSCs and AD-MSCs seeded on the scaffolds were evaluated in terms of cell viability, cell adherence, osteogenic differentiation and biomineralization. Results: Physiochemical assessments showed that scaffolds with well-developed porous morphology and stable structure was obtained. Scaffolds had no toxicity on hDPMSCs and AD-MSCs. The presence of MNPs resulted in higher ALP activity and increased expression level of osteogenic genes markers. Phosphorylation enhanced osteoinductivity of scaffolds and upregulate expression of osteogenic differentiation related genes. The use of phosphorous-containing polymer resulted in improvement of the scaffold’s osteoconductivity to support proper cell attachment and promote cell proliferation, also, stimulate bone mineralization.Conclusion: The results demonstrate that biodegradable MNPs-PCL-P/gelatin and collagen/P-PCL scaffolds hold potential for bone regeneration applications