Evaluation of Chemical and Biological Properties of Biodegradable Composites Based on Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and Chitosan.

In this study, composite films and scaffolds of polyester poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and polysaccharide chitosan obtained via a simple and reproducible blending method using acetic acid as a solvent were considered. The degradation process of the films was studied gravimetrically in a model biological medium in the presence of enzymes in vitro for 180 days. The kinetics of weight reduction depended on the amount of chitosan in the composition. The biocompatibility of the films was evaluated using the Alamar blue test and fluorescence microscopy. The materials were non-cytotoxic, and the addition of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) to chitosan improved its matrix properties on mesenchymal stem cells. Then, the 3D composites were prepared by freeze-drying. Their structure (using SEM), rheological behavior, moisture absorption, and porosity were investigated. The addition of different amounts of chitosan allowed us to vary the chemical and biological properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) materials and their degradation rate, which is extremely important in the development of biomedical poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) materials, especially implantable ones.

A Dramatic Change in Rheological Behavior of a Clay Material Caused by a Minor Addition of Hydrophilic and Amphiphilic Polyelectrolytes.

Wide usage of clay-based materials in industry requires investigations concerning efficient modification techniques to control their mechanical behavior in aqueous media. The challenging problem in this field involves minimization of the modifying agent content to provide marked changes in the operating characteristics of the material. In this work, the physicochemical, mechanical and structural aspects of the interaction of capillary water-saturated kaolinite with polyelectrolytes were studied. Modification of kaolinite with a negligible amount (0.1 wt.%) of hydrophilic and amphiphilic polyelectrolytes provides the control for rheological parameters of kaolinite suspensions such as storage and loss modulus in the range of three orders of magnitude. The results obtained reveal the wide possibilities for the production of a spectrum of clay materials using minor amounts of polymer modifying agents.

Competitive Biosynthesis of Bacterial Alginate Using Azotobacter vinelandii 12 for Tissue Engineering Applications.

This study investigated the effect of various cultivation conditions (sucrose/phosphate concentrations, aeration level) on alginate biosynthesis using the bacterial producing strain Azotobacter vinelandii 12 by the full factorial design (FFD) method and physicochemical properties (e.g., rheological properties) of the produced bacterial alginate. We demonstrated experimentally the applicability of bacterial alginate for tissue engineering (the cytotoxicity testing using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)). The isolated synthesis of high molecular weight (Mw) capsular alginate with a high level of acetylation (25%) was achieved by FFD method under a low sucrose concentration, an increased phosphate concentration, and a high aeration level. Testing the viscoelastic properties and cytotoxicity showed that bacterial alginate with a maximal Mw (574 kDa) formed the densest hydrogels (which demonstrated relatively low cytotoxicity for MSCs in contrast to bacterial alginate with low Mw). The obtained data have shown promising prospects in controlled biosynthesis of bacterial alginate with different physicochemical characteristics for various biomedical applications including tissue engineering.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/hydroxyapatite/alginate scaffolds seeded with mesenchymal stem cells enhance the regeneration of critical-sized bone defect.

A critical-sized calvarial defect in rats is employed to reveal the osteoinductive properties of biomaterials. In this study, we investigate the osteogenic efficiency of hybrid scaffolds based on composites of a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) with hydroxyapatite (HA) filled with alginate (ALG) hydrogel containing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on the regeneration of the critical-sized radial defect of the parietal bone in rats. The scaffolds based on PHB and PHB/HA with desired shapes were prepared by two-stage salt leaching technique using a mold obtained by three-dimensional printing. To obtain PHB/HA/ALG/MSC scaffolds seeded with MSCs, the scaffolds were filled with ALG hydrogel containing MSCs; acellular PHB/ALG and PHB/ALG filled with empty ALG hydrogel were prepared for comparison. The produced scaffolds have high porosity and irregular interconnected pore structure. PHB/HA scaffolds supported MSC growth and induced cell osteogenic differentiation in a regular medium in vitro that was manifested by an increase in ALP activity and expression of the CD45 phenotype marker. The data of computed tomography and histological studies showed 94% and 92%, respectively, regeneration of critical-sized calvarial bone defect in vivo at 28th day after implantation of MSC-seeded PHB/HA/ALG/MSC scaffolds with 3.6 times higher formation of the main amount of bone tissue at 22-28 days in comparison with acellular PHB/HA/ALG scaffolds that was shown at the first time by fluorescent microscopy using the original technique of intraperitoneal administration of fluorescent dyes to living postoperative rats. The obtained in vivo results can be associated with the MSC-friendly microstructure and in vitro osteogenic properties of PHB/HA base-scaffolds. Thus, the obtained data demonstrate the potential of MSCs encapsulated in the bioactive biopolymer/mineral/hydrogel scaffold to improve the bone regeneration process in critical-sized bone defects.