Preparation of gamma poly-glutamic acid/hydroxyapatite/collagen composite as the 3D-printing scaffold for bone tissue engineering

BACKGROUND: All types of movements involve the role of articular cartilage and bones. The presence of cartilage enables bones to move over one another smoothly. However, repetitive microtrauma and ischemia as well as genetic effects can cause an osteochondral lesion. Numerous treatment methods such as microfracture surgergy, autograft, and allograft, have been used, however, it possesses treatment challenges including prolonged recovery time after surgery and poses a financial burden on patients. Nowadays, various tissue engineering approaches have been developed to repair bone and osteochondral defects using biomaterial implants to induce the regeneration of stem cells. METHODS: In this study, a collagen (Col)/γ-polyglutamate acid (PGA)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite scaffold was fabricated using a 3D printing technique. A Col/γ-PGA/HA 2D membrane was also fabricated for comparison. The scaffolds (four layers) were designed with the size of 8 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm in thickness. The first layer was HA/γ-PGA and the second to fourth layers were Col/γ-PGA. In addition, a 2D membrane was constructed from hydroxyapatite/γ-PGA and collagen/γ-PGA with a ratio of 1:3. The biocompatibility property and degradation activity were investigated for both scaffold and membrane samples. Rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCs) and human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) were cultured on the samples and were tested in-vitro to evaluate cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. In-vivo experiments were performed in the rat and nude mice models. RESULTS: In-vitro and in-vivo results show that the developed scaffold is of well biodegradation and biocompatible properties, and the Col-HA scaffold enhances the mechanical properties for osteochondrogenesis in both in-vitro and animal trials. CONCLUSIONS: The composite would be a great biomaterial application for bone and osteochondral regeneration.