Preparation of fiber-microsphere scaffolds for loading bioactive substances in gradient amounts

Gradient scaffolds are needed for interface tissue regeneration. In this study, a technique combining electrospinning and electrospraying was developed for preparing poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) fiber-microsphere scaffolds for loading bioactive substances in gradient amounts. The gradient fiber-microsphere scaffolds contain two sheets of electrospun membranes and a sheet of microspheres loaded with bioactive substances in gradient amounts between the electrospun membranes. The morphologies of the gradient scaffolds were characterized and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was loaded as a model bioactive substance. The amount of BSA-loaded microspheres decreased gradually along the length of the gradient scaffold. The addition of poly (ethylene glycol) significantly improved the hydrophilicity of the gradient scaffold and the release behavior of BSA with respect to the gradient became apparent, with differences in the release amounts along the length of the gradient scaffold being observed. The biocompatibility of the gradient scaffold was verified using MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblastic cells. The study demonstrated that the combination of electrospinning and electrospraying was a feasible method for the preparation of gradient scaffolds for potential applications in interface tissue engineering.

Effect of degradation of PLGA and PLGA/β-TCP scaffolds on the growth of osteoblasts

Osteoblasts were cultured on porous scaffolds of poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and PLGA/β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) to evaluate their cytocompatibility.The proliferation of the cells on both scaffolds was examined before and after in vitro degradation for 4,8 and 12 weeks under static (shaking water bath) and dynamic (cyclic loading) conditions.Results indicate that porous PLGA and PLGA/β-TCP scaffolds have good biocompatibility and can be used as effective templates for guiding the growth of osteoblasts.The degradation of the scaffolds affects the proliferation of osteoblasts and the cell viability decreased with the degradation time.

Controlled release of dexamethasone from porous PLGA scaffolds under cyclic loading

Poly(L-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)(PLLA-PEG) microspheres containing dexamethasone(Dex) have been fabricated using a spray-drying technique.Porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)(PLGA) scaffolds were prepared using a method combining thermally induced phase separation and porogen leaching.A post-seeding technique was used to immobilize Dex-containing PLLA-PEG microspheres on porous PLGA scaffolds,and drug-containing microspheres-scaffolds(MS-S) were obtained.Simple Dex-containing scaffolds(D-S) were also made as the control by directly dissolving Dex in the PLGA solution during scaffold fabrication.The morphologies of microspheres and scaffolds were studied by scanning electron microscopy.Drug release profiles of both MS-S and D-S were determined under cyclic loading and shaking water bath,respectively.The cumulative release of Dex was measured using an ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer.The results show that the incorporation of Dex and microspheres had little effect on the overall morphology of the porous PLGA scaffolds.Cyclic loading significantly accelerated the release of Dex from the drug-containing scaffolds.Compared with D-S,MS-S reduced the drug release rate.The controlled drug delivery of tissue engineering scaffolds under cyclic loading is a key factor to mimic the in vivo mechanical environments and achieve optical clinical efficacy.