Revolutionizing bone regeneration: advanced biomaterials for healing compromised bone defects

Fabrication of anodic and atomic layer deposition-alumina coated titanium implants for effective osteointegration applications

Biomimicking the chemical, mechanical, and topographical properties of bone on an implant model is crucial to obtain rapid and effective osteointegration, especially for the large-area fractures of the skeletal system. Titanium-based biomaterials are more frequently preferred in clinical use in such cases and coating these materials with oxide layers having chemical/nanotopographic properties to enhance osteointegration and implantation success rates has been studied for a long time. The objective of this study is to examine the high and rapid mineralization potential of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) coated and atomic layer deposition (ALD)-alumina coated titanium substrates on large deformation areas with difficult spontaneous healing. AAO-coated titanium (AAO@Ti) substrates were fabricated via anodization technique in different electrolytes and their osteogenic potential was analyzed by comparing them to the bare titanium surface as a control. In order to investigate the effect of the ionic characters gained by the surfaces through anodization, the oxidized nanotopographic substrates were additionally coated with an ultrathin alumina layer via ALD (ALD@AAO@Ti), which is a sensitive and conformal coating vapor deposition technique. Besides, a bare titanium sample was also coated with pure alumina by ALD (ALD@Ti) to investigate the effect of nanoscale surface morphology. XPS analysis after ALD coating showed that the ionic character of each surface fabricated by anodization was successfully suppressed. In vitro studies demonstrated that, among the substrates investigated, the mineralization capacity of MG-63 osteosarcoma cells were highest when incubated on ALD-treated and bare AAO@Ti samples that were anodized in phosphoric acid (H3PO4_AAO@Ti and ALD@H3PO4_AAO@Ti). Mineralization on these substrates also increased consistently beginning from day 2 to day 21. Moreover, immunocytochemistry for osteopontin (OPN) demonstrated the highest expression for ALD@H3PO4_AAO@Ti, followed by the H3PO4_AAO@Ti sample. Consequently, it was observed that, although ALD treatment improves cellular characteristics on all samples, effective mineralization requires more than a simple ALD coating or the presence of a nanostructured topography. Overall, ALD@H3PO4_AAO@Ti substrates can be considered as an implant alternative with its enhanced osteogenic differentiation potential and rapid mineralization capacity.

Self-assembled peptide hydrogel loaded with functional peptide Dentonin accelerates vascularized bone tissue regeneration in critical-size bone defects

Regeneration of oral craniofacial bone defects is a complex process, and reconstruction of large bone defects without the use of exogenous cells or bioactive substances remains a major challenge. Hydrogels are highly hydrophilic polymer networks with the potential to promote bone tissue regeneration. In this study, functional peptide Dentonin was loaded onto self-assembled peptide hydrogels (RAD) to constitute functionally self-assembling peptide RAD/Dentonin hydrogel scaffolds with a view that RAD/Dentonin hydrogel could facilitate vascularized bone regeneration in critical-size calvarial defects. The functionalized peptide RAD/Dentonin forms highly ordered β-sheet supramolecular structures via non-covalent interactions like hydrogen bonding, ultimately assembling into nano-fiber network. RAD/Dentonin hydrogels exhibited desirable porosity and swelling properties, and appropriate biodegradability. RAD/Dentonin hydrogel supported the adhesion, proliferation and three-dimensional migration of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and has the potential to induce differentiation of BMSCs towards osteogenesis through activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Moreover, RAD/Dentonin hydrogel modulated paracrine secretion of BMSCs and increased the migration, tube formation and angiogenic gene expression of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), which boosted the angiogenic capacity of HUVECs. In vivo, RAD/Dentonin hydrogel significantly strengthened vascularized bone formation in rat calvarial defect. Taken together, these results indicated that the functionalized self-assembling peptide RAD/Dentonin hydrogel effectively enhance osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, indirectly induce angiogenic effects in HUVECs, and facilitate vascularized bone regeneration in vivo. Thus, it is a promising bioactive material for oral and maxillofacial regeneration.

SiONx Coating Regulates Mesenchymal Stem Cell Antioxidant Capacity via Nuclear Erythroid Factor 2 Activity under Toxic Oxidative Stress Conditions

Healing in compromised and complicated bone defects is often prolonged and delayed due to the lack of bioactivity of the fixation device, secondary infections, and associated oxidative stress. Here, we propose amorphous silicon oxynitride (SiONx) as a coating for the fixation devices to improve both bioactivity and bacteriostatic activity and reduce oxidative stress. We aimed to study the effect of increasing the N/O ratio in the SiONx to fine-tune the cellular activity and the antioxidant effect via the NRF2 pathway under oxidative stress conditions. The in vitro studies involved using human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to examine the effect of SiONx coatings on osteogenesis with and without toxic oxidative stress. Additionally, bacterial growth on SiONx surfaces was studied using methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonies. NRF2 siRNA transfection was performed on the hMSCs (NRF2-KD) to study the antioxidant response to silicon ions. The SiONx implant surfaces showed a >4-fold decrease in bacterial growth vs. bare titanium as a control. Increasing the N/O ratio in the SiONx implants increased the alkaline phosphatase activity >1.5 times, and the other osteogenic markers (osteocalcin, RUNX2, and Osterix) were increased >2-fold under normal conditions. Increasing the N/O ratio in SiONx enhanced the protective effects and improved cell viability against toxic oxidative stress conditions. There was a significant increase in osteocalcin activity compared to the uncoated group, along with increased antioxidant activity under oxidative stress conditions. In NRF2-KD cells, there was a stunted effect on the upregulation of antioxidant markers by silicon ions, indicating a role for NRF2. In conclusion, the SiONx coatings studied here displayed bacteriostatic properties. These materials promoted osteogenic markers under toxic oxidative stress conditions while also enhancing antioxidant NRF2 activity. These results indicate the potential of SiONx coatings to induce in vivo bone regeneration in a challenging oxidative stress environment.