International Journal of Nanomedicine (Jun 2018)
Enhance the biocompatibility and osseointegration of polyethylene terephthalate ligament by plasma spraying with hydroxyapatite in vitro and in vivo
Abstract
Siheng Wang,1,* Yunshen Ge,1,* Chengchong Ai,1 Jia Jiang,1 Jiangyu Cai,1 Dandan Sheng,1 Fang Wan,1 Xingwang Liu,1 Yuefeng Hao,2 Jun Chen,1 Shiyi Chen1 1Department of Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Sports Medicine Center, Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the biocompatibility and osseointegration of polyethylene terephthalate ligament after coating with hydroxyapatite (PET/HA) by using the plasma spraying technique in vitro and in vivo. Methods: In this study, PET/HA sheets were prepared by using the plasma spraying technique. The characterization, the viability of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), and the mRNA expression of bone formation-related genes were evaluated in vitro. The osseointegration in vivo was investigated in the rabbit anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction model by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) analysis, histological evaluation, and biomechanical tests. Results: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the surface of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) becomes rough after spraying with hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles, and the water contact angle was 75.4°±10.4° in the PET/HA-plasma group compared to 105.3°±10.9° in the control group (p<0.05). The cell counting kit-8 counting results showed that the number of BMSCs significantly increased in the PET/HA-plasma group (p<0.05). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results showed that there was an upregulated mRNA expression of bone formation-related genes in the PET/HA-plasma group (p<0.05). Micro-CT results showed that the transactional area of tibial tunnels and femoral tunnels was smaller in the PET/HA-plasma group (p<0.05). The histological evaluation scores of the PET/HA-plasma group were significantly superior to those of the PET control group at 8 and 12 weeks (p<0.05). The biomechanical tests showed an increased maximum load to failure and stiffness in the PET/HA-plasma group compared to those in the control group at 8 and 12 weeks. Conclusion: Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated in this study suggest that the biocompatibility and osseointegration of PET/HA ligament were significantly improved by increasing the proliferation of cells and upregulating the expression of bone formation-related genes. In a word, the PET/HA-plasma ligament is a promising candidate for ACL reconstruction in future. Keywords: sprayed mineralization, HA, graft-to-bone healing, ligament reconstruction, rabbit model
