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Edentulism is the condition of having lost natural teeth, and has serious social, psychological, and emotional consequences. The need for implant services in edentulous patients has dramatically increased during the last decades. In this study, the effects of concentrated growth factor (CGF), an autologous blood-derived biomaterial, in improving the process of osseointegration of dental implants have been evaluated. Here, permeation of dental implants with CGF has been obtained by using a Round up device. These CGF-coated dental implants retained a complex internal structure capable of releasing growth factors (VEGF, TGF-β1, and BMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) over time. The CGF-permeated implants induced the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stem cells (hBMSC) as confirmed by matrix mineralization and the expression of osteogenic differentiation markers. Moreover, CGF provided dental implants with a biocompatible and biologically active surface that significantly improved adhesion of endothelial cells on CGF-coated implants compared to control implants (without CGF). Finally, data obtained from surgical interventions with CGF-permeated dental implants presented better results in terms of optimal osseointegration and reduced post-surgical complications. These data, taken together, highlight new and interesting perspectives in the use of CGF in the dental implantology field to improve osseointegration and promote the healing process.

Simple Summary: The aim of this study was to identify new and innovative strategies to improve the tissue-regeneration process. Concentrated growth factor (CGF) is an autologous biomaterial rich in growth factors and multipotent stem cells. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the osteogenic differentiation of CGF primary cells in the presence of a hydroxyapatite–silicon scaffold, which represents a very interesting material in the field of bone reconstructive surgery. Our findings showed that the hydroxyapatite–silicon scaffold provided support to primary CGF cells by enhancing osteogenic differentiation. These data suggest interesting perspectives in the use of CGF together with scaffolds in the field of regenerative medicine. Abstract: The application of scaffolding materials together with stem cell technologies plays a key role in tissue regeneration. Therefore, in this study, CGF (concentrated growth factor), which represents an autologous and biocompatible blood-derived product rich in growth factors and multipotent stem cells, was used together with a hydroxyapatite and silicon (HA-Si) scaffold, which represents a very interesting material in the field of bone reconstructive surgery. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential osteogenic differentiation of CGF primary cells induced by HASi scaffolds. The cellular viability of CGF primary cells cultured on HA-Si scaffolds and their structural characterization were performed by MTT assay and SEM analysis, respectively. Moreover, the matrix mineralization of CGF primary cells on the HA-Si scaffold was evaluated through Alizarin red staining. The expression of osteogenic differentiation markers was investigated through mRNA quantification by real-time PCR. We found that the HA-Si scaffold was not cytotoxic for CGF primary cells, allowing their growth and proliferation. Furthermore, the HASi scaffold was able to induce increased levels of osteogenic markers, decreased levels of stemness markers in these cells, and the formation of a mineralized matrix. In conclusion, our results suggest that HA-Si scaffolds can be used as a biomaterial support for CGF application in the field of tissue regeneration.

Magnesium (Mg)- and silicon (Si)-substituted hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds were synthesized using the sponge replica method. The influence of Mg2+ and SiO44− ion substitution on the microstructural, mechanical and biological properties of HA scaffolds was evaluated. All synthesized scaffolds exhibited porosity &gt, 92%, with interconnected pores and pore sizes ranging between 200 and 800 μm. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that β-TCP was formed in the case of Mg substitution. X-ray fluorescence mapping showed a homogeneous distribution of Mg and Si ions in the respective scaffolds. Compared to the pure HA scaffold, a reduced grain size was observed in the Mg- and Si-substituted scaffolds, which greatly influenced the mechanical properties of the scaffolds. Mechanical tests revealed better performance in HA-Mg (0.44 ± 0.05 MPa), HA-Si (0.64 ± 0.02 MPa) and HA-MgSi (0.53 ± 0.01 MPa) samples compared to pure HA (0.2 ± 0.01 MPa). During biodegradability tests in Tris-HCl, slight weight loss and a substantial reduction in mechanical performances of the scaffolds were observed. Cell proliferation determined by the MTT assay using hBMSC showed that all scaffolds were biocompatible, and the HA-MgSi scaffold seemed the most effective for cell adhesion and proliferation. Furthermore, ALP activity and osteogenic marker expression analysis revealed the ability of HA-Si and HA-MgSi scaffolds to promote osteoblast differentiation.

In this work, tunable nonwoven mats based on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and type I collagen (Coll) were successfully produced by electrospinning. The PHB/Coll weight ratio (fixed at 100/0, 70/30, and 50/50, resp.) was found to control the morphological, thermal, mechanical, and degradation properties of the mats. Increasing collagen amounts led to larger diameters of the fibers (in the approximate range 600–900 nm), while delaying their thermal decomposition (from 245°C to 262°C). Collagen also accelerated the hydrolytic degradation of the mats upon incubation in aqueous medium at 37°C for 23 days (with final weight losses of 1%, 15%, and 23% for 100/0, 70/30, and 50/50 samples, resp.), as a result of increased mat wettability and reduced PHB crystallinity. Interestingly, 70/30 meshes were the ones displaying the lowest stiffness (~116 MPa; p<0.05 versus 100/0 and 50/50 meshes), while 50/50 samples had an elastic modulus comparable to that of 100/0 ones (~250 MPa), likely due to enhanced physical crosslinking of the collagen chains, at least at high protein amounts. All substrates were also found to allow for good viability and proliferation of murine fibroblasts, up to 6 days of culture. Collectively, the results evidenced the potential of as-spun PHB/Coll meshes for tissue engineering applications.