In vitro evaluation of novel electrospun oxide-scaffold biocomposites

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The study of this in vitro study was to evaluate the biological performance of several novel oxides-loaded poly(lactic-L-glycolic acid) (PLLA) scaffold biocomposites, which were fabricated by electrospinning method, to demonstrate their use in bone tissue engineering. METHOD: Silicon dioxide (SiO2), Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and Hafnium dioxide (HfO2) conjugated with PLLA were developed and fabricated by electrospinning the biocomposite scaffolds, namely PLLA/SiO2, PLLA/ZrO2, PLLA/TiO2, and PLLA/HfO2. These biocomposite were characterized by SEM and EDX analyses. In vitro studies such as biomineralization, protein absorption, cytotoxicity were also carried out. RESULT: The scaffold possessed a porous nature with pore dimensions suitable for cell infiltration and colonization. The presence of zirconia and hafnia in the PLLA/ZrO2 and PLLA/HfO2 scaffold increased protein adsorption and biomineralization properties. The PLLA/ZrO2 and PLLA/HfO2 scaffold were also found to be non-toxic to osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells. CONCLUSION: The novel electrospun PLLA/oxide scaffold biocomposites harbor the desired features such as biocompatibility and porous structure to serve as template for bone tissue engineering. In particular, PLLA/ZrO2 and PLLA/HfO2 are the highest potential candidates to be used for bone tissue engineering.