Plant-derived Cellulose Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Plant-derived cellulose biomaterials have recently been utilized in several tissue engineering applications. Naturally-derived cellulose scaffolds have been shown to be highly biocompatible in vivo, possess structural features of relevance to several tissues, as well as support mammalian cell invasion and proliferation. Recent work utilizing decellularized apple hypanthium tissue has shown that it possesses a pore size and properties similar to trabecular bone. In the present study, we examined the potential of apple-derived cellulose scaffolds for bone tissue engineering (BTE). Confocal microscopy revealed that the scaffolds had a suitable pore size for BTE applications. To analyze their in vitro mineralization potential, MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts were seeded in either bare cellulose scaffolds or in composite scaffolds composed of cellulose and collagen I. Following chemically-induced differentiation, scaffolds were mechanically tested and evaluated for mineralization. The Young’s modulus of both types of scaffolds significantly increased after cell differentiation. Alkaline phosphatase and Alizarin Red staining further highlighted the osteogenic potential of the scaffolds. Histological sectioning of the constructs revealed complete invasion by the cells and mineralization throughout the entire constructs. Finally, scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the presence of mineral aggregates deposited on the scaffolds after differentiation, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy confirmed the presence of phosphate and calcium. In summary, our results indicate that plant-derived cellulose is a promising scaffold candidate for bone tissue engineering applications.