Purpose: In the present study, the fabrication of novel p(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-butyl methylacrylate) (PIB) nanogels was combined with boron-containing mesoporous bioactive glass (B-MBG) scaffolds in order to improve the mechanical properties of PIB nanogels alone. Scaffolds were tested for mechanical strength and the ability to promote new bone formation in vivo.
Patients and methods: To evaluate the potential of each scaffold in bone regeneration, ovariectomized rats were chosen as a study model to determine the ability of PIB nanogels to stimulate bone formation in a complicated anatomical bone defect. PIB nanogels and PIB nanogels/B-MBG composites were respectively implanted into ovariectomized rats with critical-sized femur defects following treatment periods of 2, 4, and 8 weeks post-implantation.
Results: Results from the present study demonstrate that PIB nanogels/B-MBG composites showed greater improvement in mechanical strength when compared to PIB nanogels alone. In vivo, hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed significantly more newly formed bone in defects containing PIB nanogels/B-MBG composite scaffolds when compared to PIB nanogels alone. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive staining demonstrated that both scaffolds were degraded over time and bone remodeling occurred in the surrounding bone defect as early as 4 weeks post-implantation.
Conclusion: The results from the present study indicate that PIB nanogels are a potential bone tissue engineering biomaterial able to treat defects of irregular shapes and deformities as an injectable, thermoresponsive, biocompatible hydrogel which undergoes rapid thermal gelation once body temperature is reached. Furthermore, its combination with B-MBG scaffolds improves the mechanical properties and ability to promote new bone formation when compared to PIB nanogels alone.
Keywords: bone graft; boron; mesoporous bioactive graft; osteoporosis; osteoporotic defect; tissue engineering.