Hydroxyapatite-Tethered Peptide Hydrogel Promotes Osteogenesis.
Gels 2022;
8:gels8120804. [PMID:
36547328 PMCID:
PMC9777555 DOI:
10.3390/gels8120804]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydroxyapatite (HAp) as natural bone composition is highly osteoinductive. To harvest its osteoinductivity in bone regenerative engineering, the HAp-supporting hydrogel is urgently needed to minimize inhomogeneous aggregation of HAp. Here, we developed a HAp-stabilizing hydrogel based on peptide self-assembly. FmocFFRR was efficient for HAp-capping due to arginine-phosphate interaction. Tethering FmocFFRR on the HAp surface facilitated self-assembly to form FmocFFRR/HAp hybrid hydrogel, enabling stable dispersion of HAp in it. The molecular interactions between FmocFFRR and HAp particles were studied using microscopic and spectral characterizations. FmocFFRR/HAp hydrogel exhibited more enhanced mechanical properties than FmocFFRR. The biocompatibility of FmocFFRR/HAp hydrogel was verified using an ATP assay and live-dead staining assay. More importantly, FmocFFRR/HAp hydrogel not only enabled cell attachment on its surface, but also supported 3D cell culturing inside the hydrogel. Further, 3D culturing of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts inside FmocFFRR/HAp hydrogel significantly enhanced the expressions of osteogenesis markers, including alkaline phosphate (ALP), type-I collagen (COL1), and osteocalcin (OCN), demonstrating the promoting effect of osteoblast differentiation. These findings inspire its potential application in bone regenerative engineering.
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