A. Moorthi

Biocomposites containing natural polymers and hydroxyapatite for bone tissue engineering.

Bone tissue engineering is an alternative strategy to generate bone utilizing a combination of biomaterials and cells. Biomaterials that mimic the structure and composition of bone tissues at nanoscale are important for the development of bone tissue engineering applications. Natural or biopolymer-based composites containing chitin, chitosan, or collagen have advantages such as biocompatibility, biodegradability that are essential for bone tissue engineering. The inclusion of nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite (one of the most widely used bioceramic materials) into the biopolymer matrix improves the mechanical properties and incorporates the nanotopographic features that mimic the nanostructure of bone. This review summarizes the recent work on the development of biocomposites containing natural polymers with hydroxyapatite particles suitable for use in bone defects/bone regeneration.

Chitosan and its derivatives for gene delivery.

Gene delivery can particularly be used for the treatment of diseases by the insertion of genetic materials (DNA and RNA) into mammalian cells either to express new proteins or to prevent the expression of existing proteins. Chitosan, a natural polymer is nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable and it is used as a support material for gene delivery. However, practical use of chitosan has been mainly limited to its unmodified forms, and thus modified chitosans can be used for the wide range of biomedical applications including the interaction and intracellular delivery of genetic materials. In this context, this review paper provides the recent development on chitosan derivatives available for gene delivery.

Preparation, characterization and antimicrobial activity of a bio-composite scaffold containing chitosan/nano-hydroxyapatite/nano-silver for bone tissue engineering

In this study, a bio-composite scaffold containing chitosan/nano-hydroxyapatite/nano-silver particles (CS/nHAp/nAg) was developed by freeze drying technique, followed by introduction of silver ions in controlled amount through reduction phenomenon by functional groups of chitosan. The scaffolds were characterized using SEM, FT-IR, XRD, swelling, and biodegradation studies. The testing of the prepared scaffolds with Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains showed antibacterial activity. The scaffold materials were also found to be non-toxic to rat osteoprogenitor cells and human osteosarcoma cell line. Thus, these results suggested that CS/nHAp/nAg bio-composite scaffolds have the potential in controlling implant associated bacterial infection during reconstructive surgery of bone.

Biocomposite scaffolds containing chitosan/alginate/nano-silica for bone tissue engineering.

Bone tissue engineering is a promising alternative method for treating bone loss by a combination of biomaterials and cells. In this study, we fabricated biocomposite scaffolds by blending chitosan (CS), alginate (Alg) and nano-silica (nSiO2), followed by freeze drying. The prepared scaffolds (CS/Alg, CS/Alg/nSiO2) were characterized by SEM, FT-IR and XRD analyses. In vitro studies such as swelling, biodegradation, biomineralization, protein adsorption and cytotoxicity were also carried out. The scaffolds possessed a well-defined porous architecture with pore sizes varying from 20 to 100 μm suitable for cell infiltration. The presence of nSiO2 in the scaffolds facilitated increased protein adsorption and controlled swelling ability. The scaffolds were biodegradable and the addition of nSiO2 improved apatite deposition on these scaffolds. There was no significant cytotoxicity effect of these CS/Alg/nSiO2 scaffolds towards osteolineage cells. Thus, these results indicate that CS/Alg/nSiO2 scaffolds may have potential applications for bone tissue engineering.

Bio-composite scaffolds containing chitosan/nano-hydroxyapatite/nano-copper-zinc for bone tissue engineering

The current study involves fabrication and characterization of bio-composite scaffolds containing chitosan (CS), nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAp) and Cu-Zn alloy nanoparticles (nCu-Zn) by freeze drying technique. The fabricated composite scaffolds (CS/nHAp and CS/nHAp/nCu-Zn) were characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD and FT-IR studies. The addition of nCu-Zn in the CS/nHAp scaffolds significantly increased swelling, decreased degradation, increased protein adsorption, and increased antibacterial activity. The CS/nHAp/nCu-Zn scaffolds had no toxicity towards rat osteoprogenitor cells. So the developed CS/nHAp/nCu-Zn scaffolds have advantageous and potential applications over the CS-nHAp scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

A novel injectable temperature-sensitive zinc doped chitosan/β-glycerophosphate hydrogel for bone tissue engineering.

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymers that have a wide range of biomedical applications including bone tissue engineering. In this study we report preparation and characterization of a thermosensitive hydrogel (Zn-CS/β-GP) containing zinc (Zn), chitosan (CS) and beta-glycerophosphate (β-GP) for bone tissue engineering. The prepared hydrogel exhibited a liquid state at room temperature and turned into a gel at body temperature. The hydrogel was characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, FT-IR and swelling studies. The hydrogel enhanced antibacterial activity and promoted osteoblast differentiation. Thus, we suggest that the Zn-CS/β-GP hydrogel could have potential impact as an injectable in situ forming scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications.

Chitosan scaffolds containing silicon dioxide and zirconia nano particles for bone tissue engineering.

A scaffold harboring the desired features such as biodegradation, biocompatibility, porous structure could serve as template for bone tissue engineering. In the present study, chitosan (CS), nano-scaled silicon dioxide (Si) and zirconia (Zr) were combined by freeze drying technique to fabricate a bio-composite scaffold. The bio-composite scaffold (CS/Si/Zr) was characterized by SEM, XRD and FT-IR studies. The scaffold possessed a porous nature with pore dimensions suitable for cell infiltration and colonization. The presence of zirconia in the CS/Si/Zr scaffold decreased swelling and increased biodegradation, protein adsorption and bio-mineralization properties. The CS/Si/Zr scaffold was also found to be non-toxic to rat osteoprogenitor cells. Thus, we suggest that CS/Si/Zr bio-composite scaffold is a potential candidate to be used for bone tissue engineering.

Expression of microRNA-30c and its target genes in human osteoblastic cells by nano-bioglass ceramic-treatment.

Osteoblast differentiation is tightly regulated by post transcriptional regulators such as microRNAs (miRNAs). Several bioactive materials including nano-bioglass ceramic particles (nBGC) influence differentiation of the osteoblasts, but the molecular mechanisms of nBGC-stimulation of osteoblast differentiation via miRNAs are not yet determined. In this study, we identified that nBGC-treatment stimulated miR-30c expression in human osteoblastic cells (MG63). The bioinformatics tools identified its regulatory network, molecular function, biological processes and its target genes involved in negative regulation of osteoblast differentiation. TGIF2 and HDAC4 were found to be its putative target genes and their expression was down regulated by nBGC-treatment in MG63 cells. Thus, this study advances our understanding of nBGC action on bone cells and supports utilization of nBGC in bone tissue engineering.

Chitosan scaffolds containing chicken feather keratin nanoparticles for bone tissue engineering

Chicken feathers are considered as major waste from poultry industry. They are mostly constituted by a protein called keratin. In this study, keratin was prepared from chicken feathers and from where keratin nanoparticles (nKer) were synthesized. Since chitosan has excellent properties like controlled biodegradation and biocompatibility, we used keratin nanoparticles along with chitosan matrix as scaffolds (CS/nKer) and they were characterized by SEM, FT-IR and XRD analyses. There was a porous architecture in the scaffolds in the range to support cell infiltration and tissue ingrowth. The keratin nanoparticles had interaction with chitosan matrix and did not alter the semi crystalline nature of chitosan scaffolds. The biodegradation and protein adsorption of the scaffolds were significantly increased upon addition of keratin nanoparticles. The scaffolds were also found to be non-cytotoxic to human osteoblastic cells. Thus, CS/nKer scaffolds could serve as a potential biomimetic substrate for bone tissue engineering applications.

Effects of silica and calcium levels in nanobioglass ceramic particles on osteoblast proliferation

At nanoscale, bioglass ceramic (nBGC) particles containing calcium oxide (lime), silica and phosphorus pentoxide promote osteoblast proliferation. However, the role of varied amounts of calcium and silica present in nBGC particles on osteoblast proliferation is not yet completely known. Hence, the current work was aimed at synthesizing two different nBGC particles with varied amounts of calcium oxide and silica, nBGC-1: SiO2:CaO:P2O5; mol%~70:25:5 and nBGC-2: SiO2:CaO:P2O5; mol%~64:31:5, and investigating their role on osteoblast proliferation. The synthesized nBGC particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. They exhibited their size at nanoscale and were non-toxic to human osteoblastic cells (MG-63). The nBGC-2 particles were found to have more effect on stimulation of osteoblast proliferation and promoted entering of more cells into G2/M cell cycle phase compared to nBGC-1 particles. There was a differential expression of cyclin proteins in MG-63 cells by nBGC-1 and nBGC-2 treatments, and the expression of cyclin B1 and E proteins was found to be more by nBGC-2 treatment. Thus, these results provide us a new insight in understanding the design of various nBGC particles by altering their ionic constituents with desirable biological properties thereby supporting bone augmentation.