The mineralization, drug release and in vivo bone defect repair properties of calcium phosphates/PLA modified tantalum scaffolds.

Calcium phosphate based biomaterials have been widely studied in biomedical areas. Herein, amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) nanospheres and hydroxyapatite (HA) nanorods were separately prepared and used for coating tantalum (Ta) scaffolds with a polymer of polylactide (PLA). We have found that different crystal phases of calcium phosphate coated on Ta scaffolds displayed different effects on the surface morphologies, mineralization and bovine serum albumin (BSA) release. The ACP-PLA and HA-PLA coated on Ta scaffold were more favorable for in vitro mineralization than bare and PLA coated Ta scaffolds, and resulted in a highly hydrophilic surfaces. Meanwhile, the osteoblast-like cells (MG63) showed favorable properties of adhesion and spreading on both ACP-PLA and HA-PLA coated Ta scaffolds. The ACP-PLA and HA-PLA coated Ta scaffolds showed a high biocompatibility and potential applications for in vivo bone defect repair.

Electrospinning of calcium phosphate-poly (d,l-lactic acid) nanofibers for sustained release of water-soluble drug and fast mineralization.

Calcium phosphate-based biomaterials have been well studied in biomedical fields due to their outstanding chemical and biological properties which are similar to the inorganic constituents in bone tissue. In this study, amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) nanoparticles were prepared by a precipitation method, and used for preparation of ACP-poly(d,l-lactic acid) (ACP-PLA) nanofibers and water-soluble drug-containing ACP-PLA nanofibers by electrospinning. Promoting the encapsulation efficiency of water-soluble drugs in electrospun hydrophobic polymer nanofibers is a common problem due to the incompatibility between the water-soluble drug molecules and hydrophobic polymers solution. Herein, we used a native biomolecule of lecithin as a biocompatible surfactant to overcome this problem, and successfully prepared water-soluble drug-containing ACP-PLA nanofibers. The lecithin and ACP nanoparticles played important roles in stabilizing water-soluble drug in the electrospinning composite solution. The electrospun drug-containing ACP-PLA nanofibers exhibited fast mineralization in simulated body fluid. The ACP nanoparticles played the key role of seeds in the process of mineralization. Furthermore, the drug-containing ACP-PLA nanofibers exhibited sustained drug release which simultaneously occurred with the in situ mineralization in simulated body fluid. The osteoblast-like (MG63) cells with spreading filopodia were well observed on the as-prepared nanofibrous mats after culturing for 24 hours, indicating a high cytocompatibility. Due to the high biocompatibility, sustained drug release, and fast mineralization, the as-prepared composite nanofibers may have potential applications in water-soluble drug loading and release for tissue engineering.

Amorphous calcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite and poly(d,l-lactic acid) composite nanofibers: Electrospinning preparation, mineralization and in vivo bone defect repair.

Due to the outstanding bioactivity and biocompatibility, calcium phosphate (CaP) based materials have been widely investigated for applications in the biomedical fields. In this study, amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) nanospheres and hydroxyapatite (HA) nanorods have been prepared and hybridized with poly(d,l-lactic acid) (PLA) to fabricate the composite nanofibers through electrospinning. The as-prepared ACP-PLA and HA-PLA composite nanofibers exhibit favorable mineralization behaviors in simulated body fluid (SBF). In the mineralization process, the ACP nanospheres and HA nanorods play an important role in the formation of HA nanosheets on the surface of composite nanofibers. The ACP-PLA and HA-PLA composite nanofibers show a high biocompatibility. The in vivo bone defect repair properties of the ACP-PLA and HA-PLA composite nanofibers are preliminarily investigated. The as-prepared ACP-PLA and HA-PLA composite nanofibers have promising applications in the biomedical fields.