3D vasculateure-like scaffold as an osteogenesis inducing bone graft

Objectives: Bone self-repair in large bone defects is limited and bone grafts to the injured area are required. Current grafts such as autograft, allografts and xenografts, all have their limitations and risks. Due to traditional grafts limitations, a tissue engineering approach to replace damaged bone has emerged. Appropriate scaffolds for engineering large bone constructs should have a 3D bulk structure, biodegradable and biocompatible material, and promote osteogenesis. The major limitation of current solutions is the inappropriate design of the used scaffolds that usually fails to transport essential growth factors and nutrition to the whole volume of the scaffold, especially to its center. our objective is to develop a 3D scaffold consisted of vasculature-like tubes system surrounded by bone substitute particles bulk as an osteogenesis inducing graft.
Methods: We developed a 3D scaffold utilizing a biodegradable polymer- polycaprolactone (PCL), to build a vasculature-like system, consisted of PCL-tubes and bone substitute particles dispersed between and around them using electrospinning technique. The scaffold was tested for its permeability, biocompatibility, durability and ability to host mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and induce their proliferation and differentiation in vitro and in vivo.
Results: The scaffold biocompatibility in supporting seeded MSC was confirmed using the analysis of SEM images. Circulation of plasma (and blood in vivo) through the scaffold confirm its permeability to blood proteins, and MSC seeded on the scaffold shows higher osteogenic gene expression.
Conclusions: Our 3D scaffold design supports blood circulation and transport of nutrition, and induce osteogenesis.