Maja Dutour Sikirić

Biomimetic organic-inorganic nanocomposite coatings for titanium implants.

A new class of organic-inorganic nanocomposites, to be used as coatings for surface enhancement of metal implants for bone replacement and repair, has been prepared by a biomimetic three-step procedure: (1) embedding amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) particles between organic polyelectrolyte multilayers (PE MLs), (2) in situ transformation of ACP to octacalcium phospate (OCP) and/or poorly crystalline apatite nanocrystals by immersion of the material into a metastable calcifying solution (MCS) and (3) deposition of a final PE ML. The organic polyelectrolytes used were poly-L-glutamic acid and poly-L-lysine. The nanocomposites obtained by each successive step were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), and XRD, and their suitability as coatings for metal implants was examined by mechanical and in vitro biological tests. Coatings obtained by the first deposition step are mechanically unstable and therefore not suitable. During the second step, upon immersion into MCS, ACP particles were transformed into crystalline calcium phosphate, with large platelike OCP crystals as the top layer. After phase transformation, the nanocomposite was strongly attached to the titanium, but the top layer did not promote cell proliferation. However, when the coating was topped with an additional PE ML (step 3), smoother surfaces were obtained, which facilitated cell adhesion and proliferation as shown by in vitro biological tests using primary human osteoblasts (HO) directly seeded onto the nanocomposites. In fact, cell proliferation on nanocomposites with top PE MLs was far superior than on any of the individual components and was equivalent to proliferation on the golden standard (plastic).

Viscoelastic behavior of mineralized (CaCO3) chitin based PVP-CMC hydrogel scaffolds

Enhancement of the mechanical as well as functional properties of the perspective mineralized PVP-CMC-CaCO3 hydrogel scaffold applicable for bone tissue engineering is quite essential. Therefore, the incorporation feasibility of chitin, a bioactive, antibacterial and biodegradable material, was examined in order to test its ability to enchance mechanical properties of the PVP-CMC-CaCO3 hydrogel scaffold. Chitin based PVP-CMC hydrogels were prepared and characterized both as non-mineralized and mineralized (CaCO3) form of hydrogel scaffolds. Both α-chitin (commercially bought) and β-chitin (isolated from the cuttlebone) were individually tested. It was observed that at 1% strain all hydrogel scaffolds have linear trend, with highly pronounced elastic properties in comparison to viscous ones. The complex viscosity has directly proportional behavior with negative slope against angular frequency within the range of ω = 0.1 − 100 rad.s−1. Incorporation of β-chitin increased storage modulus of all mineralized s...