Cryogel-PCL combination scaffolds for bone tissue repair

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 123 - 7
• Main Authors: Van Rie, Jonas, Declercq, Heidi, Van Hoorick, Jasper, Dierick, Manuel, Van Hoorebeke, Luc, Cornelissen, Ria, Thienpont, Hugo, Dubruel, Peter, Van Vlierberghe, Sandra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.03.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Biocompatibility; Biocompatible Materials; Biomaterials; Biomedical engineering; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Biomedical materials; Bone and Bones; Bones; Cellular; Ceramics; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composites; Cryogels - chemistry; Density; Derivatives; Gelatins; Glass; Infiltration; Materials Science; Mice; Natural Materials; Polyesters - chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Polymers; Regenerative Medicine/Tissue Engineering; Scaffolds; Skeletal system; Studies; Surfaces and Interfaces; Temperature; Thin Films; Three dimensional; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Engineering Constructs and Cell Substrates; Tissue Scaffolds; X-Ray Microtomography; Cellular Ingrowth; Cryogenic Treatment; Pore Size Gradient; Entire Scaffold; Poly Lactic Acid
• ISSN: 0957-4530; 1573-4838
• DOI: 10.1007/s10856-015-5465-8

The present work describes the development and the evaluation of cryogel-poly-ε-caprolactone combinatory scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Gelatin was selected as cell-interactive biopolymer to enable the adhesion and the proliferation of mouse calvaria pre-osteoblasts while poly-ε-caprolactone was applied for its mechanical strength required for the envisaged application. In order to realize suitable osteoblast carriers, methacrylamide-functionalized gelatin was introduced into 3D printed poly-ε-caprolactone scaffolds created using the Bioplotter technology, followed by performing a cryogenic treatment which was concomitant with the redox-initiated, covalent crosslinking of the gelatin derivative (i.e. cryogelation). In a first part, the efficiency of the cryogelation process was determined using gel fraction experiments and by correlating the results with conventional hydrogel formation at room temperature. Next, the optimal cryogelation parameters were fed into the combinatory approach and the scaffolds developed were characterized for their structural and mechanical properties using scanning electron microscopy, micro-computed tomography and compression tests respectively. In a final part, in vitro biocompatibility assays indicated a good colonization of the pre-osteoblasts and the attachment of viable cells onto the cryogenic network. However, the results also show that the cellular infiltration throughout the entire scaffold is suboptimal, which implies that the scaffold design should be optimized by reducing the cryogel density.