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. 2021 Mar 10;7(2):346.
doi: 10.18063/ijb.v7i2.346. eCollection 2021.

3D Printed Zn-doped Mesoporous Silica-incorporated Poly-L-lactic Acid Scaffolds for Bone Repair

Guowen Qian  1 , Lemin Zhang  1 , Guoyong Wang  1 , Zhengyu Zhao  2 , Shuping Peng  3   4 , Cijun Shuai  1   2   5
Affiliations

3D Printed Zn-doped Mesoporous Silica-incorporated Poly-L-lactic Acid Scaffolds for Bone Repair

Guowen Qian et al. Int J Bioprint. .

Abstract

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) lacks osteogenic activity, which limits its application in bone repair. Zinc (Zn) is widely applied to strengthen the biological properties of polymers due to its excellent osteogenic activity. In the present study, Zn-doped mesoporous silica (Zn-MS) particles were synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal method. Then, the particles were induced into PLLA scaffolds prepared by selective laser sintering technique, aiming to improve their osteogenic activity. Our results showed that the synthesized particles possessed rosette-like morphology and uniform mesoporous structure, and the composite scaffold displayed the sustained release of Zn ion in a low concentration range, which was attributed to the shield effect of the PLLA matrix and the strong bonding interaction of Si-O-Zn. The scaffold could evidently promote osteogenesis differentiation of mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by upregulating their osteogenesis-related gene expression. Besides, Zn-MS particles could significantly increase the compressive strength of the PLLA scaffold because of their rosette-like morphology and mesoporous structure, which can form micromechanical interlocking with the PLLA matrix. The Zn-MS particles possess great potential to improve various polymer scaffold properties due to their advantageous morphology and physicochemical properties.

Keywords: Bone repair; Poly-L-lactic acid; Zinc doped mesoporous silica.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Schematic diagram of the synthesis of zinc-doped mesoporous silica (Zn-MS) particles. (B) Images of scanning electron microscope, (C-D) transmission electron microscopy, E dark-field, (F-H) element distributions and corresponding merge photo (I) of the synthesized Zn-MS particles.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) XRD pattern, (B) nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm, and (C-D) XPS spectra of the synthesized Zn-MS particles.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Digital images of the Poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds with different amount of zinc-doped mesoporous silica prepared by selective laser sintering. (B and C) Scanning electron microscope images of the tensile brittle fracture surface of the composite scaffolds (point 1 analyzed by energy dispersive spectrometer and particles indicated blue arrows). (D) Results of water contact angle of the composite scaffolds.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Compressive stress-strain curves, (B) compressive strength, (C-D) compressive modulus and micro-hardness of the composite scaffolds.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The cumulative release concentration (A, C) and the average release concentration (B, D) of Zn (A, B) and Si (C, D) ions of the poly-L-lactic acid composite scaffolds with different amount of zinc-doped mesoporous silica after soaking in phosphate buffer saline for different times.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The morphology of osteoblast-like MG-63 cells grew on the poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and 4 zinc-doped mesoporous silica/PLLA samples after cultured for 1, 4, and 7 days.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Live-dead fluorescence staining images of MG-63 cells after cultured on the poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and 4 zinc-doped mesoporous silica/PLLA scaffold for 1 day (dead cells indicated by red arrows).
Figure 8
Figure 8
The expression of osteogenesis-related genes of mBMSCs grown on the poly-Llactic acid (PLLA) and 4 zinc-doped mesoporous silica/PLLA scaffolds after being cultured for 7 and 14 days.
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