Scaffolds containing chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose/mesoporous wollastonite for bone tissue engineering.

Scaffold based bone tissue engineering utilizes a variety of biopolymers in different combinations aiming to deliver optimal properties required for bone regeneration. In the current study, we fabricated bio-composite scaffolds containing chitosan (CS), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) with varied concentrations of mesoporous wollastonite (m-WS) particles by the freeze drying method. The CS/CMC/m-WS scaffolds were characterized by the SEM, EDS and FT-IR studies. Addition of m-WS particles had no effect on altering the porosity of the scaffolds. m-WS particles at 0.5% concentration in the CS/CMC scaffolds showed significant improvement in the bio-mineralization and protein adsorption properties. Addition of m-WS particles in the CS/CMC scaffolds significantly reduced their swelling and degradation properties. The CS/CMC/m-WS scaffolds also showed cyto-friendly nature to human osteoblastic cells. The osteogenic potential of CS/CMC/m-WS scaffolds was confirmed by calcium deposition and expression of an osteoblast specific microRNA, pre-mir-15b. Thus, the current investigations support the use of CS/CMC/m-WS scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.

Biomaterials mediated microRNA delivery for bone tissue engineering.

Bone tissue engineering is an alternative strategy to overcome the problems associated with traditional treatments for bone defects. A number of bioactive materials along with new techniques like porous scaffold implantation, gene delivery, 3D organ printing are now-a-days emerging for traditional bone grafts and metal implants. Studying the molecular mechanisms through which these biomaterials induce osteogenesis is an equally hot field. Biomaterials could determine the fate of a cell via microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and play an essential role for regulation of cell specific lineages including osteogenesis. Thus, this review focuses the recent trends on establishing a link of biomaterials with miRNAs and their delivery for bone tissue engineering applications.