Speaker
Description
So far, most organ and tissue damage resulting from genetic defects or trauma is treated with either pharmacologically or surgically. This is performed through the use of appropriate drugs or, in more severe cases, organ transplantation. However, over the past few years, biomaterials have increasingly gained importance in materials science with great hopes for solving tissue and organ healing problems. These smart bioactive materials, have great potential in regenerative medicine through stimulation of surrounding tissues or local drug delivery. Of particular interest is the coating of implants with specific layers of biomaterial. Such a strategy can be used to increase biocompatibility as well as to provide additional properties without changing the base material. In the case of materials developed for bone regeneration, a coating created from a bioactive hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramic can be used to add the desired osteointegration feature. HA exhibits the ability to bond with natural tissue, which largely eliminates the danger of implant loosening. Moreover, it is highly biocompatible and thus does not cause any allergic reactions. Unfortunately, HA itself has low mechanical strength and high fragility, which limits its application. A solution to this problem may be to suspend HA in a polymer matrix that provides flexibility. The polymer phase is able to transfer the stresses and the resulting composite will not lose its bioactive properties due to the nature of HA. Furthermore, the nature of the polymeric phase is interesting, because due to the structure and arrangement of the polymeric chain, it can be modified with additional active ingredients such as proteins or drugs, and thus, it is possible to use such a biomaterial as a carrier of an active substance.
In this study, innovative ceramic-polymer composite coatings based on HA, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) containing glutathione and collagen were developed for bone tissue regeneration. Glutathione is a tripeptide that exhibits antioxidant and health-promoting properties as well as supports osteoblast differentiation, while collagen is the main component of the intercellular substance of organisms and creates the organic phase of natural bone. Bioactive HA was suspended in the polymeric phase and the multicomponent material was then applied to polylactide (PLA) plates. This way, a multifunctional material was obtained showing potential abilities to support the process of implant connection with host tissues as well as to support regeneration of damaged tissues.
Physicochemical analysis including incubation studies, FT-IR or SEM was performed. In addition, tribological properties and cytotoxicity were investigated. The materials have been found to be safe in contact with l929 mouse fibroblast cells. Moreover, as a result of incubation in SBF fluid, the appearance of new apatite layers on the surface was observed which confirms the occurring biomineralization process.
Considering the promising results obtained, the material can be subjected to further research.
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