Design and Fabrication of Multi-Component Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering, 01-R8078

Principal Investigators
XingGuo Cheng
Gianny Rossini

Inclusive Dates:  07/07/09 – 07/07/10

Background - Background: In the United States alone, more than one million bone grafting surgical procedures related to the treatment of bone defects and fractures were performed each year. The estimated health care cost reaches more than $5 billion annually. There is clearly a need to develop multifunctional synthetic scaffolds that can meet the need for bone repair and regeneration, particularly for critical size defects. To address the unmet need to regenerate bone tissues in critical size defects with infected wounds, SwRI researchers will develop a technology to engineer multifunctional scaffolds with desired properties and ease of scalability and manufacturability. The objective of the current project is to design and fabricate multi-component scaffolds that can prevent infection and promote both bone repair and bone regeneration, similar to autogenous bone.

Approach - The approach to design and fabricate multi-component scaffolds for tissue engineering is:

1. Design and fabrication of multifunctional scaffolds using roll-roll processing technology. SwRI will synergistically combine the roll-roll processing technology, used for engineering biodegradable Mg-alloy based materials with defined pore sizes and surface topology, with an internally developed electrochemical deposition process for designing desired drug-eluting biomimetic coatings (e.g., collagen-hydroxyapatite).
    
2. In-vitro characterization and testing of the multifunctional scaffolds. Various scaffolds will be tested in vitro for biodegradability, drug release profile, mechanical strength, and biocompatibility. Migration and differentiation of stem cells in the designed scaffolds will also be tested.
    
3. In-vivo testing of the scaffolds for bone repair and regeneration in a critical defect size animal model. The purpose of in-vivo testing is to evaluate the potential of the scaffold for bone tissue engineering. Both the in-vitro and in-vivo tests will also improve the design and fabrication of the scaffolds.

Accomplishments - Surface treatment of the Mg-alloy greatly reduced the biocorrosion and degradation of the implant material. Researchers have developed technologies to form an Mg-alloy implant with good cell biocompatibilities, as indicated by a direct contact test and an indirect elution test using Mesenchymal stem cells. These treated Mg implants will be tested in vivo for biocompatibility in a rat model and bone growth in a rabbit model.

2009 Program Home