School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London N6A 5B9, Canada.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
Biomater Adv. 2023 Nov;154:213616. doi: 10.1016/j.bioadv.2023.213616. Epub 2023 Sep 4.
Natural bone is a complex organic-inorganic composite tissue that possesses endogenous electrically conductive properties in response to mechanical forces. Mimicking these unique properties collectively in a single synthetic biomaterial has so far remained a formidable task. In this study, we report a synthesis strategy that comprised gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA), sol-gel derived tertiary bioactive glass (BG), and uniformly dispersed multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to create nanocomposite hydrogels that mimic the organic-inorganic composition of bone. Using this strategy, biomaterials that are electrically conductive and possess electro-mechanical properties similar to endogenous bone were prepared without affecting their biocompatibility. Nanocomposite hydrogel biomaterials were biodegradable and promoted biomineralization, and supported multipotent mesenchymal progenitor cell (10T1/2) cell interactions and differentiation into an osteogenic lineage. To the best of our knowledge, this work presents the first study to functionally characterize suitable electro-mechanical responses in nanocomposite hydrogels, a key process that occurs in the natural bone to drive its repair and regeneration. Overall, the results demonstrated GelMA-BG-MWCNT nanocomposite hydrogels have the potential to become promising bioactive biomaterials for use in bone repair and regeneration.
天然骨是一种复杂的有机-无机复合组织，具有对机械力响应的内源性导电特性。迄今为止，在单一合成生物材料中模仿这些独特特性仍然是一项艰巨的任务。在这项研究中，我们报告了一种合成策略，该策略包括明胶甲基丙烯酰（GelMA）、溶胶-凝胶衍生的三级生物活性玻璃（BG）和均匀分散的多壁碳纳米管（MWCNT），以创建模拟骨的有机-无机组成的纳米复合水凝胶。使用这种策略，制备了具有导电性和类似于内源性骨的机电性能的生物材料，而不会影响其生物相容性。纳米复合水凝胶生物材料可生物降解并促进生物矿化，并支持多能间充质祖细胞（10T1/2）细胞相互作用和向成骨谱系分化。据我们所知，这项工作首次对纳米复合水凝胶中的合适机电响应进行了功能表征，这是一个发生在天然骨中以驱动其修复和再生的关键过程。总体而言，研究结果表明 GelMA-BG-MWCNT 纳米复合水凝胶有可能成为用于骨修复和再生的有前途的生物活性生物材料。
