Zeolite Based Composites for Bone Tissue Engineering

Background and Aim: A wide variety of injuries and orthopedic problemssuch as trauma, tumor, deformity and etc caused bone regeneration andrepair faced problems. Tissue engineering offers the possibility to createcompletely natural tissue and replace failing or malfunctioning organs.The aim of this study was to design the nanofiber scaffolds containing PolyCaprolactone (PCL), Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG) and Different Percentof Zeolite to investigate adhesion and proliferation of Human AmnioticMesenchymal Stem Cells (HA-MSCs) and cell viability. Scaffolds wereproduced by Electrospinning method.Methods: PCL and PEG were synthesized via Ring-Opening method.PCL-PEG co-polymer provides good mechanical properties for bonetissue engineering applications. PCL-PEG co-polymer provides Initialexpectations of suitable scaffold for bone regeneration. Zeolite powderwas made by the hydrothermal method. X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD)of Zeolite was obtained and compared with Powder Pattern IdentificationTable. Scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning method (FanavaranNano-Meghyas, Iran) in 3 categories include PCL-PEG, PCL-PEG-Zeolite0.05 g, and PCL-PEG-Zeolite 0.1 g. The production of nanofibers viaelectrospinning is affected by many operating parameters includeelectrospinning parameters, solution properties, and environmentalparameters. Fourier Transform Infra- Red (FTIR) analysis of nanofibers wasobtained. HA-MSCs were seeded on fabricated scaffolds and viability ofthem on scaffolds investigated by MTT assay on the 3rd, 7th and 14thdays. MTT assay is a cytotoxicity test for Cell viability measurement. Cellswere fixed via Glutaraldehyde on nanofibers on the 14th day and coatwith gold nanoparticles for SEM studies.Results: The result of XRD compared with Powder Pattern IdentificationTable and specific Zeolite peaks were identified. FTIR showed functionalgroups of scaffolds elements. MTT assay results showed that HA-MSCshave the maximum growth and cell viability on PCL-PEG nanofiberson the 3rd day and on PCL- PEG-Zeolite 0.1 g nanofibers on 7th and14th days. SEM showed excellent adhesion and growth of HA-MSCs on PCL- PEG-Zeolite 0.1 g scaffold. The presence of Zeolite in scaffoldstructure increased cell attachment and improve cell properties so thatcell viability on PCL-PEG-Zeolite 0.1 g nanofibers is more than PCL-PEGZeolite0.05 g nanofibers and cell attachment on PCL- PEG-Zeolite 0.1g scaffold is better than PCL-PEG-Zeolite 0.05 g nanofibers. SEM imagesshowed excellent cell adhesion of HA-MSCs on PCL- PEG-Zeolite 0.1 gnanofibers. This scaffold is recommended for bone and dental therapeuticapplications because of it’s an ideal property in regeneration.Conclusion: PCL-PEG co-polymer improves scaffold properties.Investigation of MTT results showed that amount of Zeolite effect ongrowth, cell viability, and adhesion. Increasing percent of zeolite inelectrospun scaffold improves cell adhesion on designed scaffolds andcell viability. A scaffold composed of PCL-PEG-Zeolite 0.1 g could be agood candidate for bone development, bone repair, skeletal regenerationtherapy, and bone tissue engineering applications. Scaffold composed ofPCL-PEG-Zeolite 0.1 g could be a good candidate for bone development,bone repair, skeletal regeneration therapy and bone tissue engineeringapplications. Zeolite presence in scaffolds improved osteoconductivity,osteogenesis and cell behavior. Increasing the percentage of Zeolitein scaffold’s structure improved cell attachments and cell behavior ondesigned scaffold.