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Mechanically-competent and cytocompatible polycaprolactone-borophosphosilicate hybrid biomaterials
Dibakar Mondal1, S Jeffrey Dixon2, Kibret Mequanint3
1Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6A 5B9; Bone and Joint Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6A 5A5.
Novel hybrid biomaterials combining polycaprolactone (PCL) and borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) show superior mechanical strength and controlled degradation. These PCL/BPSG materials also exhibit excellent cytocompatibility, making them promising for bone tissue engineering scaffolds.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Materials Chemistry
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Class II organic-inorganic hybrid materials feature molecular-level domain sizes and chemical bonding between organic and inorganic phases.
- Previous work established the synthesis of class II hybrid biomaterials from alkoxysilane-functionalized polycaprolactone (PCL) and borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) via a non-aqueous sol-gel process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the mechanical properties and degradability of PCL/BPSG hybrid biomaterials with their conventional composite counterparts.
- To evaluate the in vitro cytocompatibility of these novel hybrid biomaterials.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized PCL/BPSG hybrid biomaterials using a non-aqueous sol-gel process.
- Characterized mechanical properties (compressive strength, modulus, toughness) and degradation rates in phosphate-buffered saline.
- Assessed in vitro cytocompatibility using MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblastic cells.
Main Results:
- Hybrid biomaterials demonstrated significantly greater compressive strength, modulus, and toughness compared to conventional composites, attributed to covalent bonding.
- A 50wt% PCL/50wt% BPSG hybrid material showed 32.2 MPa strength, 573 MPa modulus, and 1.54 MPa toughness, outperforming composites (18.8 MPa, 275 MPa, 0.76 MPa).
- Hybrid materials exhibited slower degradation and enhanced cell spreading, focal adhesion formation, and cell proliferation compared to PCL controls.
Conclusions:
- PCL/BPSG hybrid biomaterials possess superior mechanical properties and more controlled degradation than conventional composites.
- These materials demonstrate excellent in vitro cytocompatibility, indicating suitability for biological applications.
- The enhanced properties suggest significant potential for PCL/BPSG hybrid biomaterials as scaffolds in bone tissue engineering.
