Bioinspired assembly of surface-roughened nanoplatelets.

Here we report a novel electrophoretic deposition technology for assembling surface-roughened inorganic nanoplatelets into ordered multilayers that mimic the brick-and-mortar nanostructure found in the nacreous layer of mollusk shells. A thin layer of sol-gel silica is coated on smooth gibbsite nanoplatelets in order to increase the surface roughness to mimic the asperity of aragonite platelets found in nacres. To avoid the severe cracking caused by the shrinkage of sol-gel silica during drying, polyelectrolyte polyethyleneimine is used to reverse the surface charge of silica-coated-gibbsite nanoplatelets and increase the adherence and strength of the electrodeposited films. Polymer nanocomposites can then be made by infiltrating the interstitials of the aligned nanoplatelet multilayers with photocurable monomer followed by photopolymerization. The resulting self-standing films are highly transparent and exhibit nearly three times higher tensile strength and one-order-of-magnitude higher toughness than those of pure polymer. The measured tensile strength agrees with that predicted by a simple shear lag model.

Novel fabrication of a polymer scaffold with a dense bioactive ceramic coating layer.

A novel method of coating a polymeric scaffold with a dense ceramic layer was developed. This method exploits the fact that only one of the two interlaced 3-D channels formed in a ceramic dual-scaffold can be infiltrated with a polymer. Firstly, a 3-D graphite network prepared by the rapid prototyping (RP) method was dip-coated with hydroxyapatite (HA) slurry, followed by heat-treatment at 1250 degrees C for 3 h in air. This created an additional 3-D channel through the removal of the graphite network, while preserving the pre-existing 3-D channel. Thereafter, only one channel was infiltrated with a molten poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) polymer at 140 degrees C for 12 h, producing a PCL scaffold with a dense, uniform HA coating layer. The sample showed high compressive strength with ductile behavior, due to the nature of the PCL polymer, and an excellent cellular response afforded by the bioactive HA coating layer. The results indicate that this novel technique provides a highly versatile method of coating various polymeric scaffolds with bioactive layers in order to endow them with advanced functionalities.

Novel hydroxyapatite (HA) dual-scaffold with ultra-high porosity, high surface area, and compressive strength.

A novel scaffold designed for tissue engineering applications, which we refer to as a "dual-scaffold" because its structure consists of two interlaced three-dimensional (3-D) hydroxyapatite (HA) networks, was fabricated using a combination of the rapid prototyping (RP) method and dip-coating process. To accomplish this, a graphite network acting as a template was prepared using the RP method and then uniformly dip-coated with HA slurry. The resultant sample was then heat-treated at 1250 degrees C for 3 h in air to remove the graphite network and consolidate the HA networks. An additional 3-D channel was formed by removing the graphite network, while preserving the pre-existing channel. The unique structure of the dual-scaffold endows it with unprecedented features, such as ultra-high porosity (>85%), a high surface area and high compressive strength, as well as a tightly controlled pore structure. In addition, an excellent cellular response was observed to the fabricated HA dual-scaffold.

Macrochanneled poly (epsilon-caprolactone)/ hydroxyapatite scaffold by combination of bi-axial machining and lamination.

A combination of bi-axial machining and lamination was used to fabricate macrochanneled poly (epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL)/hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds. Thermoplastic PCL/HA sheets with a thickness of 1 mm, consisting of a 40 wt% PCL polymer and 60 wt% HA particles, were bi-axially machined. The thermoplastic PCL/HA exhibited an excellent surface finish with negligible tearing of the PCL polymer and pull-out of the HA particles. The bi-axially machined sheets were laminated with a solvent to give permanent bonding between the lamina. This novel process produced three-directionally connected macrochannels in the dense PCL/HA body. The macrochanneled PCL/HA scaffold exhibited excellent ductility and reasonably high strength. In addition, good cellular responses were observed due to the osteoconductive HA particles.

On the feasibility of phosphate glass and hydroxyapatite engineered coating on titanium.

In this report, bioactive calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings were produced on titanium (Ti) by using phosphate-based glass (P-glass) and hydroxyapatite (HA), and their feasibility for hard tissue applications was addressed in vitro. P-glass and HA composite slurries were coated on Ti under mild heat treatment conditions to form a porous thick layer, and then the micropores were filled in with an HA sol-gel precursor to produce a dense layer. The resultant coating product was composed of HA and calcium phosphate glass ceramics, such as tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and calcium pyrophosphate (CPP). The coating layer had a thickness of approximately 30-40 microm and adhered to the Ti substrate tightly. The adhesion strength of the coating layer on Ti was as high as 30-33 MPa. The human osteoblastic cells cultured on the coatings produced by the combined method attached and proliferated favorably. Moreover, the cells on the coatings expressed significantly higher alkaline phosphatase activity than those on pure Ti, suggesting the stimulation of the osteoblastic activity on the coatings. On the basis of these observations, the engineered CaP coating layer is considered to be potentially applicable as a hard tissue-coating system on Ti-based implants.

Degradation and drug release of phosphate glass/polycaprolactone biological composites for hard-tissue regeneration.

Phosphate-based glass (P-glass) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) composites were fabricated in a sheet form by solvent extraction and thermal pressing methods, and the antibiotic drug Vancomycin was loaded within the composites for use as a hard-tissue regenerative. The degradation and drug-release rate of the composites in vitro were tailored by modifying the glass composition: 0.45 P(2)O(5)-x CaO-(0.55-x)Na(2)O, where x=0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5. Compared to pure PCL, all the P-glass/PCL composites degraded to a higher degree, and the composite with lower-CaO glass showed a higher material loss. This was attributed mainly to the dissolution of the glass component. The glass dissolution also increased the degradation of PCL component in the composites. The Vancomycin release from the composites was strongly dependent on the glass composition. Drug release in pure PCL was initially abrupt and flattened out over a prolonged period. However, glass/PCL composites (particularly in the glass containing higher-CaO) exhibited a reduced initial burst and a higher release rate later. Preliminary cell tests on the extracts from the glass/PCL composites showed favorable cell proliferation, but the level was dependent on the ionic concentration of the extracts. The cell proliferation on the diluted extracts from the composite with higher-CaO glass was significantly higher than that on the blank culture dish. These observations confirmed that the P-glass/PCL composites are potentially applicable for use as hard-tissue regeneration and wound-healing materials because of their controlled degradation and drug-release profile as well as enhanced cell viability.