Mesoporous calcium–silicon xerogels with mesopore size and pore volume influence hMSC behaviors by load and sustained release of rhBMP-2

Abstract

Wenhua Song,1,* Xiangde Li,1,* Jun Qian,1 Guoyu Lv,2 Yonggang Yan,2 Jiacan Su,3 Jie Wei1 1Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Physical Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 3Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this paper Abstract: Mesoporous calcium–silicon xerogels with a pore size of 15 nm (MCS-15) and pore volume of 1.43 cm3/g were synthesized by using 1,3,5-mesitylene (TMB) as the pore-expanding agent. The MCS-15 exhibited good degradability with the weight loss of 50 wt% after soaking in Tris-HCl solution for 56 days, which was higher than the 30 wt% loss shown by mesoporous calcium–silicon xerogels with a pore size of 4 nm (MCS-4). The pore size and pore volume of MCS-15 had significant influences on load and release of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2). The MCS-15 had a higher capacity to encapsulate a large amount of rhBMP-2; it could adsorb 45 mg/g of rhBMP-2 in phosphate-buffered saline after 24 hours, which was more than twice that with MCS-4 (20 mg/g). Moreover, the MCS-15 system exhibited sustained release of rhBMP-2 as compared with MCS-4 system (showing a burst release). The MCS-15/rhBMP-2 system could promote the proliferation and differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells, showing good cytocompatibility and bioactivity. The results indicated that MCS-15, with larger mesopore size and higher pore volume, might be a promising carrier for loading and sustained release of rhBMP-2, which could be used as bone repair material with built-in osteoinduction function in bone reconstruction. Keywords: mesoporous calcium–silicon xerogels, pore size, pore volume, load-release, rhBMP-2