International Journal of Nanomedicine (Nov 2023)

Graphene Oxide Functionalized Gelatin Methacryloyl Microgel for Enhanced Biomimetic Mineralization and in situ Bone Repair

  • Peng X,
  • Liu X,
  • Yang Y,
  • Yu M,
  • Sun Z,
  • Chen X,
  • Hu K,
  • Yang J,
  • Xiong S,
  • Wang B,
  • Ma L,
  • Wang Z,
  • Cheng H,
  • Zhou C

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 18
pp. 6725 – 6741

Abstract

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Ximing Peng,1,* Xin Liu,2,* Yanqing Yang,1,* Mingwei Yu,1 Zhiwei Sun,1 Xiangru Chen,1 Keqiang Hu,1 Jing Yang,1 Shaotang Xiong,2 Bin Wang,2 Liya Ma,3 Zhenxing Wang,4 Hanxiao Cheng,5,* Chuchao Zhou1,* 1Department of Plastic Surgery, Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University (Wuhan Third Hospital), Wuhan, 430060, People’s Republic of China; 2Medical Aesthetic Department, The Second People’s Hospital of China Three Gorges University, The Second People’s Hospital of Yichang, Yichang, Hubei, People’s Republic of China; 3The Centre of Analysis and Measurement of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Plastic Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Plastic Surgery, Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310006, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hanxiao Cheng; Chuchao Zhou, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: The formation of bone-like apatite (Ap) on natural polymers through biomimetic mineralization using simulated body fluid (SBF) can improve osteoconductivity and biocompatibility, while lowering immunological rejection. Nonetheless, the coating efficiency of the bone-like Ap layer on natural polymers requires improvement. Carbonyls (-COOH) and hydroxyls (-OH) are abundant in graphene oxide (GO), which may offer more active sites for biomimetic mineralization and promote the proliferation of rat bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs).Methods: In this study, gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) microgels were infused with GO (0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/mL) and embedded into microgels in SBF for 1, 7, and 14 days. Systematic in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to evaluate the structure of the microgel and its effect on cell proliferation and ability to repair bone defects in rats.Results: The resulting GO-GelMA-Ap microgels displayed a porous, interconnected structure with uniformly coated surfaces in bone-like Ap, and the Ca/P ratio of the 1 mg/mL GO-GelMA-Ap group was comparable to that of natural bone tissue. Moreover, the 1 mg/mL GO-GelMA-Ap group exhibited a greater Ap abundance, enhanced proliferation of BMSCs in vitro and increased bone formation in vivo compared to the GelMA-Ap group.Discussion: Overall, this study offers a novel method for incorporating GO into microgels for bone tissue engineering to promote biomimetic mineralization.Graphical-Abstract: Keywords: graphene oxide, gelatin methacryloyl, bone-like apatite, biomimetic mineralization, simulated body fluid, bone repair

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