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In the present study, scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications were made by immersing the inorganic phases of three different calcium phosphate (CaPs) (hydroxyapatite (HA), tricalcium phosphate (TCP), and biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP)) mixing bioactive glass (15Ca:80Si:5P) (BG) with polycaprolactone (PCL) as a binder in an organic phase of chitosan/collagen (ChiCol) matrix (CaPBG@ChiCol). Porous scaffolds were obtained by freeze drying the combinations. The mechanical properties and in vitro growth of rat osteoblast-like UMR-106 cells were investigated. The investigation indicated that the compressive strength was controlled by the types of CaP. The highest compressive modulus of the composites was 479.77 MPa (23.84 MPa for compressive strength) which is for the BCPBG@ChiCol composite. Compressive modulus of 459.01 and 435.95 MPa with compressive strength of 22.73 and 17.89 MPa were observed for the HABG@ChiCol and TCPBG@ChiCol composites, respectively. In vitro cell availability and proliferation tests confirmed the osteoblast attachment and growth on the CaPBG@ChiCol surface. Comparing the scaffolds, cells grown on the BCPBG based composite showed the higher cell density. To test its bioactivity, BCPBG@ChiCol was chosen for MTT and ALP assays on UMR-106 cells. The results indicated that the UMR-106 cells were viable and had higher ALP activity as the culturing times were increased. Therefore, ChiCol-fabricated BCPBG scaffold shows promise for bone regeneration. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1758-1766, 2017., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

In the present study, composite scaffolds made with different weight ratios (0.5:1, 1:1 and 2:1) of bioactive glass (15Ca:80Si:5P) (BG)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (PVABG) and chitosan (Chi)/collagen (Col) (ChiCol) were prepared by three mechanical freeze-thaw followed by freeze-drying to obtain the porous scaffolds. The mechanical properties and the in vitro biocompatibility of the composite scaffolds to simulated body fluid (SBF) and to rat osteoblast-like UMR-106 cells were investigated. The results from the studies indicated that the porosity and compressive strength were controlled by the weight ratio of PVABG:ChiCol. The highest compressive modulus of the composites made was 214.64 MPa which was for the 1:1 weight ratio PVABG:ChiCol. Mineralization study in SBF showed the formation of apatite crystals on the PVABG:ChiCol surface after 7 days of incubation. In vitro cell availability and proliferation tests confirmed the osteoblast attachment and growth on the PVABG:ChiCol surface. MTT and ALP tests on the 1:1 weight ratio PVABG:ChiCol composite indicated that the UMR-106 cells were viable. Alkaline phosphatase activity was found to increase with increasing culturing time. In addition, we showed the potential of PVABG:ChiCol drug delivery through PBS solution studies. 81.14% of BSA loading had been achieved and controlled release for over four weeks was observed. Our results indicated that the PVABG:ChiCol composites, especially the 1:1 weight ratio composite exhibited significantly improved mechanical, mineral deposition, biological properties and controlled release. This made them potential candidates for bone tissue engineering applications., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A drug delivery vehicle consisting of spherical calcium phosphate-collagen particles covered by flower-like (SFCaPCol) blossoms composed of nanorod building blocks and their cellular response is studied. The spherical structure was achieved by a combination of sonication and freeze-drying. The SFCaPCol blossoms have a high surface area of approximately 280 m(2) g(-1). The blossom-like formation having a high surface area allows a drug loading efficiency of 77.82%. The release profile for one drug, vancomycin (VCM), shows long term sustained release in simulated body fluid (SBF), in a phosphate buffer saline (PBS, pH 7.4) solution and in culture media over 2 weeks with a cumulative release ~53%, 75% and 50%, respectively, over the first 7 days. The biocompatibility of the VCM-loaded SFCaPCol scaffold was determined by in vitro cell adhesion and proliferation tests of rat osteoblast-like UMR-106 cells. MTT tests indicated that UMR-106 cells were viable after exposure to the VCM loaded SFCaPCol, meaning that the scaffold (the flower-like blossoms) did not impair the cell's viability. The density of cells on the substrate was seen to increase with increasing cultured time., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)