PLLA Membranes Enriched with Chitosan/DCPA: Innovative Approach to Bone Tissue Engineering

Bone tissue engineering has been very promising. The use of scaffolds of synthetic and natural materials is an alternative to combine the advantages of both types of materials. This study aimed to evaluate electrospun polymeric matrices of pure PLLA or associated with 5% or 10% of chitosan particles loaded or not with DCPA in bone proliferation and differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSC). The particles and matrices were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. PDLSC were isolated from periodontal ligament fragments of human permanent teeth using the explant technique. Cell proliferation assay (Alamar Blue) was performed from 1 to 21 days of culture in clonogenic medium and Alizarin Red assay was performed after 21 days of culture in osteogenic medium. The data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test, and the comparison between media was given by the Student-Newman-Keuls test (α = 0.05). On days 1 and 7 there were no statistical difference between materials regarding cell proliferation (p>0.05). The materials with 5 and 10% chitosan / DCPA showed greater proliferation than PLLA control on days 14 and 21 and the material with 10% pure chitosan was greater than the control in 21 days. Regarding the alizarin red assay, PLLA 5% chitosan, PLLA 5 and 10% chitosan / DCPA showed a greater degree of mineralization than the control and the PLLA 10% chitosan material, and they were similar to each other. We conclude that PLLA 5 and 10% chitosan / DCPA materials were able to increase both, cell proliferation and differentiation of PDLSC in bone cells. Key words:Chitosan, PLLA, polymeric matrix, electrospinning.