Samia Laïb

The in vivo degradation of a ruthenium labelled polysaccharide-based hydrogel for bone tissue engineering.

In this paper we report a new method that permitted for the first time to selectively track a polysaccharide-based hydrogel on bone tissue explants, several weeks after its implantation. The hydrogel, which was developed for bone healing and tissue engineering, was labelled with a ruthenium complex and implanted into rabbit bone defects in order to investigate its in vivo degradation. 1, 2, 3 and 8 weeks after surgery, the bone explants were analyzed by synchrotron X-ray microfluorescence, infrared mapping spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy after histological coloration. The results showed that the labelled polysaccharide-based hydrogel was likely to undergo phagocytosis that seemed to occur from the edge to the center of the implantation site up to at least the 8th week.

An in vitro study of two GAG-like marine polysaccharides incorporated into injectable hydrogels for bone and cartilage tissue engineering

Natural polysaccharides are attractive compounds with which to build scaffolds for bone and cartilage tissue engineering. Here we tested two non-standard ones, HE800 and GY785, for the two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) culture of osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) and chondrocytes (C28/I2). These two glycosaminoglycan-like marine exopolysaccharides were incorporated into an injectable silylated hydroxypropylmethylcellulose-based hydrogel (Si-HPMC) that has already shown its suitability for bone and cartilage tissue engineering. Results showed that, similarly to hyaluronic acid (HA) (the control), HE800 and GY785 significantly improved the mechanical properties of the Si-HPMC hydrogel and induced the attachment of MC3T3-E1 and C28/I2 cells when these were cultured on top of the scaffolds. Si-HPMC hydrogel containing 0.67% HE800 exhibited the highest compressive modulus (11kPa) and allowed the best cell dispersion, especially of MC3T3-E1 cells. However, these cells did not survive when cultured in 3-D within hydrogels containing HE800, in contrast to C28/I2 cells. The latter proliferated in the microenvironment or concentrically depending on the nature of the hydrogel. Among all the constructs tested the Si-HPMC hydrogels containing 0.34% HE800 or 0.67% GY785 or 0.67% HA presented the most interesting features for cartilage tissue engineering applications, since they offered the highest compressive modulus (9.5-11kPa) while supporting the proliferation of chondrocytes.

A Novel Drug Delivery System for Bisphosphonates: Innovative Strategy for Local Treatment of Bone Resorption

One type of potent aminobisphosphonate (Zoledronate) has been chemically associated onto b-tricalcium phosphate [b-TCP] and calcium deficients apatite [CDA]. Two different association modes have been observed, according to the nature of the Calcium Phosphate [CaP] support and/or the initial concentration of the Zoledronate solution. b-TCP appears to promote Zoledronate-containing crystals formation. On the other hand, at concentrations < 0.05 mol.L-1 CDA seems to undergo chemisorption of the drug through a surface adsorption process, due to PO3 for PO4 exchange, which is well described by Freundlich equations. At concentrations > 0.05 mol.L-1, crystalline needles of a Zoledronate complex form onto the CDA surface. The ability of CDA to release Zoledronate, resulting in the inhibition of osteoclastic activity, was shown using a specific in vitro bone resorption model.