Study of Osteogenic Potential of Electrospun PCL incorporated by
Dendrimerized Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles as a Bone Tissue
Engineering Scaffold
Abstract
Nanotechnology plays a promising role in biomedical applications,
particularly tissue engineering. Recently, the application of magnetic
scaffolds and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) exposure has been
considered in bone tissue regeneration. In this study, 3rd generation
dendrimer-modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles
(G3-SPIONs) are synthesized comprehensively characterized. Magnetic
polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers are prepared by incorporating
G3-SPIONs within the electrospinning process ,and physicochemical
characteristics ,as well as cytocompatibility and cell attachment are
assessed. Eventually, the osteogenic differentiation ability of
adipocyte-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) cultured on the
magnetic scaffold with and without PEMF exposure was investigated by
measurement of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium content.
The expression of specific bone markers was studied using the Real-time
PCR method. According to the results, G3-SPIONs with mean size and zeta
potential of 17.95 ± 3.57 nm and 22.7 mV, respectively, show a high
saturation magnetization (57.75 emu/g). Adding G3-SPIONs to PCL
significantly decrease nanofibers size to 495±144 nm and improves cell
attachment and growth. The ADMSCs cultured on the G3-SPION-PCL scaffold
in the presence of osteogenic media (OM) and exposure to PEMF expressed
the highest Osteocalcin and Runx2 and showed higher calcium content as
well as ALP activity. It can be concluded that the synthesized G3-SPION
incorporated PCL nanofibers serve as a promising magnetic scaffold for
bone regeneration. Also, utilizing the magnetic scaffold in the presence
of OM and PEMF provides a synergistic effect toward osteogenic
differentiation of ADMSCs. Key Words: Superparamagnetic iron oxide
nanoparticles, Dendrimer, Polycaprolactone, Pulsed electromagnetic
field, Bone tissue engineering