Therapeutic foam scaffolds incorporating biopolymer-shelled mesoporous nanospheres with growth factors.

A novel therapeutic scaffolding system of engineered nanocarriers within a foam matrix for the long-term and sequential delivery of growth factors is reported. Mesoporous silica nanospheres were first functionalized to have an enlarged mesopore size (12.2nm) and aminated surface, which was then shelled by a biopolymer, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), via electrospraying.

Utilizing core-shell fibrous collagen-alginate hydrogel cell delivery system for bone tissue engineering.

Three-dimensional matrices that encapsulate and deliver stem cells with defect-tuned formulations are promising for bone tissue engineering. In this study, we designed a novel stem cell delivery system composed of collagen and alginate as the core and shell, respectively. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were loaded into the collagen solution and then deposited directly into a fibrous structure while simultaneously sheathing with alginate using a newly designed core-shell nozzle.

Efficacy of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in delivering BMP-2 plasmid DNA for in vitro osteogenic stimulation of mesenchymal stem cells.

We report the ability of aminated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN-NH2) with large mesopore space and positive-charged surface to deliver genes within rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The amine functionalized inorganic nanoparticles were complexed with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) plasmid DNA (pDNA) to study their transfection efficiency in MSCs. Intracellular uptake of the complex BMP2 pDNA/MSN-NH2 occurred significantly, with a transfection efficiency of approximately 68%.

Capacity of mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic molecules.

Inorganic bioactive nanomaterials are attractive for hard tissue regeneration, including nanocomponents for bone replacement composites and nanovehicles for delivering therapeutics. Bioactive glass nanoparticles (BGn) have recently gained potential usefulness as bone and tooth regeneratives. Here we demonstrate the capacity of the BGn with mesopores to load and deliver therapeutic molecules (drugs and particularly genes).

Calcium phosphate cements loaded with basic fibroblast growth factor: delivery and in vitro cell response.

Combining calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) with bioactive molecules improves their bone regeneration potential. Although CPCs are highly osteoconductive, sometimes they have limited biological responses, especially in terms of cell proliferation. Here, we used basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in an α-tricalcium phosphate cement with different initial powder sizes (coarse vs.

Size-dependent cellular toxicity of silver nanoparticles.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have found a variety of uses including biomedical materials; however, studies of the cytotoxicity of AgNPs by size effects are only in the beginning stage. In this study, we examined the size-dependent cellular toxicity of AgNPs using three different characteristic sizes (∼ 10, 50, and 100 nm) against several cell lines including MC3T3-E1 and PC12. The cytotoxic effect determined based on the cell viability, intracellular reactive oxygen species generation, lactate dehydrogenase release, ultrastructural changes in cell morphology, and upregulation of stress-related genes (ho-1 and MMP-3) was fairly size- and dose-dependent.

Neurite outgrowth of dorsal root ganglia neurons is enhanced on aligned nanofibrous biopolymer scaffold with carbon nanotube coating.

Nerve regeneration and functional recovery have been a major issue following injury of nerve tissues. Electrospun nanofibers are known to be suitable scaffolds for neural tissue engineering applications. In addition, modified substrates often provide better environments for neurite outgrowth.

Effect of carbon nanotube coating of aligned nanofibrous polymer scaffolds on the neurite outgrowth of PC-12 cells.

Neurite outgrowth from endogenous or transplanted cells is important for neural regeneration following nerve tissue injury. Modified substrates often provide better environments for cell adhesion and neurite outgrowth. This study was conducted to determine if MWCNT (multiwalled carbon nanotube)-coated electrospun PLCL [poly (l-lactic acid-co-3-caprolactone)] nanofibres improved the neurite outgrowth of PC-12 cells.