•Dextran grafted PHBV fibrous scaffolds (PHBV-DEX) have been obtained.•PHBV-DEX scaffolds have significantly enhanced the proliferation of BMSCs in vitro.•PHBV-DEX scaffolds can be applied in tissue engineering.The proliferation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in vitro is a key challenge for cartilage tissue engineering and their clinical applications. In this study, novel dextran grafting PHBV (PHBV-DEX) fibrous scaffolds were fabricated via surface modification. Compared with the electrospun PHBV fibrous scaffolds, dextran modified ones exhibited significantly enhanced surface hydrophilicity and bioactivity. The water contact angle (WCA) of those scaffolds was reduced from 117.3±4.30° to 56.03±1.13° after dextran modification. PHBV-DEX scaffold significantly promoted the growth of BMSCs compared with unmodified one, suggesting that it can be potentially applied in tissue engineering.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) based antibacterial materials are widely applied to commodity and clinic wound treatments. However, genotoxicity and inflammatory response induced by AgNPs inhibit their application as the antibacterial coating of medical devices like catheters. A novel gelatin-AgNPs coating manufacture method was introduced here to generate an antibacterial coating, which nearly immunes to inflammatory, on basal PHBV material. The novel gelatin-AgNPs coating was produced by immobilizing gelatin on the Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) membrane and subsequently fixing AgNPs on acquired gelatin coating. Prepared gelatin-AgNPs coatings displayed considerable antibacterial capacity. These gelatin-AgNPs coatings did not cause inflammation, growth inhibition or apoptosis to normal human embryonic lung fibroblasts, MRC-5 cells, by analyzing the transcription levels of relevant genes in these cells incubated with tested coatings for 4 days. Hence, this novel gelatin-AgNPs coating manufacture method paved its way to apply in medical devices manufacture including catheters.

The biodegradable ceramic scaffolds with desirable pore size, porosity and mechanical properties play a crucial role in bone tissue engineering and bone transplantation. A novel porous β-dicalcium silicate (β-Ca2SiO4) ceramic scaffold was prepared by sintering the green body consisting of CaCO3 and SiO2 at 1300 °C, which generated interconnected pore network with proper pore size of about 300 μm and high compressive strength (28.13±5.37–10.36±0.83 MPa) following the porosity from 53.54±5.37% to 71.44±0.83%. Porous β-Ca2SiO4 ceramic scaffolds displayed a good biocompatibility, since human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells and goat bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) proliferated continuously on the scaffolds after 7 d culture. The porous β-Ca2SiO4 ceramic scaffolds revealed well apatite-forming ability when incubated in the simulated body fluid (SBF). According to the histological test, the degradation of porous β-Ca2SiO4 ceramic scaffolds and the new bone tissue generation in vivo were observed following 9 weeks implantation in nude mice. These results suggested that the porous β-Ca2SiO4 ceramic scaffolds could be potentially applied in bone tissue engineering.

A key challenge in tissue engineering is the construction of a scaffold with adequate properties which would mimic extracellular matrix (ECM) to induce the cells' efficient adhesion, proliferation and proper differentiation. Novel β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV composite scaffolds were fabricated by integrating β-Ca2SiO4 nanoparticles with PHBV backbone via a modified solvent casting-particulates leaching method, which generates interconnected porous structure and the high porosity, about 87%, of these scaffolds. Compared with PHBV scaffolds, β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV composite scaffolds facilitate the adhesion of human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells due to their increased hydrophilicity. The β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV composite scaffolds containing 2.5 or 5% β-Ca2SiO4 nanoparticles significantly enhance the proliferation of MG-63 cells by stimulating the transcription of the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7) genes. These scaffolds also induce early differentiation via promoting the transcription of alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The results suggest the potential application of β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV composites in bone tissue engineering.The β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV composite scaffolds with multiple bioactivity. Panel a shows the ESEM micrographs of the synthesized β-Ca2SiO4 nanoparticles; panels b and c are ESEM micrographs of MG-63 cell adhesion on β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV scaffolds for 4 h: (b) pure PHBV scaffold; (c) composite scaffold with 2.5 wt.% β-Ca2SiO4 nanoparticles; panel d presents the influence of β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV scaffolds to the proliferation of MG-63 cells; panel e shows the β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV composite scaffolds that influence the transcription of genes listed.Highlights► β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV composite scaffold was fabricated by integrating β-Ca2SiO4 nanoparticles. ► β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV scaffolds facilitate the adhesion of human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells. ► β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV scaffolds significantly enhance the proliferation of MG-63 cells. ► β-Ca2SiO4/PHBV scaffolds stimulate the transcription of TGF-β1, BMP-7 and ALP.

•IDPPSs were fabricated with a combination of the solvent casting and salt leaching techniques.•Our work illustrates that IDPPSs can significantly facilitate osteoblast expansion in vitro.•IDPPS can continuously release icariin and strongly influence adhered MG-63 cells.•IDPPS promotes the cell proliferation via stimulating the transcript of BMP genes and ECM gene.How cells could proliferate quickly and maintain their biological activity by using appropriate scaffolds remains a big challenge for tissue engineering. By integrating icariin, a bioactive ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Epimedii herba, with PHBV scaffolds, novel icariin delivery porous PHBV scaffolds (IDPPSs) were fabricated with a combination of the solvent casting and salt leaching techniques. IDPPSs displayed a high porosity, 88.80%, and appropriate mechanical properties which were required for 3-D cell culture. IDPPSs significantly promoted the proliferation of human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells and the pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells, while IDPPSs containing 0.1% icariin (wt.%) showed the highest effect compared with other samples. Although IDPPSs continuously released icariin to the solution in 28 days, cells attached to IDPPSs received an enhanced growth stimulation compared with which were not physically in contact with IDPPSs. Up-regulated transcription of growth factor genes and extracellular matrix genes, including BMP2, BMP6, BMP7 and BGN, was observed in IDPPS-cultured MG-63 cells, illustrating that enhanced cellular proliferation results from alteration of gene transcription. These results implied the potential commercial use of IDPPSs in tissue engineering.

Novel hydroxyapatite (HA)/porous carbon composite scaffolds were prepared by applying sonoelectrodeposition and a subsequent hydrothermal treatment to previous carbonized phenolic resin coated polyurethane sponges. The interconnected pore network and morphology of HA/porous carbon composite scaffolds were determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the whole surface of porous carbons were evenly coated with the deposited HA layer which was confirmed by EDS and XRD. The porosity (83.5 ± 0.3%) and the bulk density (0.297 ± 0.009 g·cm−3) of HA/porous carbon scaffolds were detected by the Archimedes method. The compressive and flexural strength of the scaffolds is 1.187 ± 0.064 MPa and 0.607 ± 0.268 MPa, respectively. Compared with the polymeric surface of 24-well cell culture plates, these novel scaffolds significantly promote the proliferation of human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells, indicating that this novel HA/porous carbon composite scaffold could be used for in vitro 3D culture of osteoblasts.Highlights► We created a new method to prepare novel HA/porous carbon scaffolds. ► Novel HA/porous carbon scaffolds contain highly interconnected porous network. ► Novel scaffolds significantly promote the proliferation of MG-63 cells. ► HA/porous carbon scaffolds are suitable for in vitro 3D cell culture.