Development of Novel Nanostructured Tissue Engineering Scaffold Materials through Self-assembly for Bed-side Orthopedic
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Development of Novel Nanostructured Tissue Engineering Scaffold Materials through Self-Assembly for Bed-Side Orthopedic Applications Lijie Zhang1, Sharwatie Ramsaywack2, Hicham Fenniri2, and Thomas J. Webster1 1 Divisions of Engineering and Orthopaedics, Brown Univeristy, 182 Hope Street, Providence, RI, 02912 2 Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta and National Institute for Nanotechnology, 11421 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, AB T6G 2M9, Canada ABSTRACT The objective of the current study was to utilize a natural self-assembled organic biomaterial (helical rosette nanotubes (HRNs)) to improve bone growth necessary for orthopedic implant applications. The DNA base pair building blocks of HRNs can self-assemble through 18 H-bonds to form a supermacrocycle in water which then stack to form a nanotube 3.5 nm in diameter and several µm in length. The nanometric features and ability to place diverse amino acid side chains on HRNs make them intriguing materials for orthopedic applications. In this study, HRNs are combined with a biocompatible hydrogel matrix in order to obtain more robust scaffolds. Bone cell experiments in vitro demonstrated that the novel HRNs with hydrogels could greatly enhance osteoblast (bone-forming cell) adhesion even at a very low concentration (close to 0.001mg/ml). Morphology of the HRNs with hydrogel scaffolds was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results showed that there were bundles of nanotubes in the HRNs with hydrogel scaffolds. Therefore, considering the good biocompatibility and nano bone-like structure of these scaffolds, the nanostructured hydrogel matrix with HRNs have the potential to serve as novel bone building agents for “on-the-site” orthopedic applications. INTRODUCTION It is widely known that natural bone is a well-organized matrix that consists of a protein based soft hydrogel template (i.e., collagen) and hard inorganic components (specifically, hydroxyapatite which is typically 20-80 nm long and 2-5 nm thick) [1]. Most of the components in the bone matrix (such as collagen, hydroxyapatite and noncollagenous proteins) are nanoscale in dimensions [2]. Thus, novel biomaterials that biomimic the nano-structure of natural bone have been investigated and have shown promise as improved orthopedic implants [3-4]. Traditional biological materials (such as autografts and allografts) to treat bone defects have many disadvantages such as the transmission of diseases, inflammation, donor tissue shortage, and donor site morbidity [5-7]. Bone tissue engineering intended to develop biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve bone cell functions, may potentially provide excellent alternative solutions to repair bone defects. For these reasons, scientists are pursuing developments of a new generation of biocompatible bone tissue-engineering alternatives: for instance, the formation of injectable nanostructured scaffolds onto the site of fracture is a promising and
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