Berri Nael, Fares Jawad, Fares Youssef
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK.
Neuroscience Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Adv Biomed Res. 2018 Aug 29;7:117. doi: 10.4103/abr.abr_206_17. eCollection 2018.
Tissue engineering and biomaterials have made it possible to innovate bone treatments for orthopedic and spine problems. The aim of this study is to develop a novel polyethylene oxide (PEO)/silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite (Si-HA) composite to be used as a scaffold for hard tissue engineering in orthopedic and spine procedures.
The composite was fabricated through the electrospinning technique. The applied voltage (5 kV) and PEO concentration (5%) were fixed. Processing parameters such as the flow rates (20 μl/min and 50 μl/min), distances from capillary tube to the collector (130 mm and 180 mm), spinning time (10 min and 20 min), and concentration of Si-HA (0.2% and 0.6%) were explored to find the optimum conditions to produce fine composite fibers.
Scanning electron microscope images showed that 5% PEO, 5% PEO/0.2% Si-HA, and 5% PEO/0.6% Si-HA fibers were successively produced. Flow rates and working distances showed significant influence on the morphology of the polymeric and composite fibers. A high flow rate (50 μl/min) and a larger working distance (180 mm) resulted in larger fibers. The comparison between the mean fiber diameter of 5% PEO/0.2% Si-HA and 5% PEO/0.6% Si-HA showed to be significantly different. As the Si-HA concentration increased, certain fibers were having particles of Si-HA that were not properly integrated into the polymer matrix.
Synthesis of a novel biomaterial for hard tissue scaffold through electrospinning was successful. In general, PEO/Si-HA fibers produced have the desired characteristics to mimic the extracellular matrix of bone.
组织工程和生物材料使创新骨科和脊柱疾病的骨治疗方法成为可能。本研究的目的是开发一种新型聚环氧乙烷（PEO）/硅取代羟基磷灰石（Si-HA）复合材料，用作骨科和脊柱手术中硬组织工程的支架。
通过静电纺丝技术制备复合材料。施加电压（5 kV）和PEO浓度（5%）固定。探索流速（20 μl/min和50 μl/min）、毛细管到收集器的距离（130 mm和180 mm）、纺丝时间（10 min和20 min）以及Si-HA浓度（0.2%和0.6%）等加工参数，以找到生产优质复合纤维的最佳条件。
扫描电子显微镜图像显示依次制备出了5% PEO、5% PEO/0.2% Si-HA和5% PEO/0.6% Si-HA纤维。流速和工作距离对聚合物纤维和复合纤维的形态有显著影响。高流速（50 μl/min）和较大工作距离（180 mm）导致纤维更大。5% PEO/0.2% Si-HA和5% PEO/0.6% Si-HA的平均纤维直径比较显示有显著差异。随着Si-HA浓度增加，某些纤维中的Si-HA颗粒未正确整合到聚合物基质中。
通过静电纺丝成功合成了用于硬组织支架的新型生物材料。一般来说，所制备的PEO/Si-HA纤维具有模仿骨细胞外基质的理想特性。
