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Hollow hydroxyapatite microspheres/chitosan composite as a sustained delivery vehicle for rhBMP-2 in the treatment of bone defects

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Abstract

Composite scaffold comprised of hollow hydroxyapatite (HA) and chitosan (designated hHA/CS) was prepared as a delivery vehicle for recombinating human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2). The in vitro and in vivo biological activities of rhBMP2 released from the composite scaffold were then investigated. The rhBMP-2 was firstly loaded into the hollow HA microspheres, and then the rhBMP2-loaded HA microspheres were further incorporated into the chitosan matrix. The chitosan not only served to bind the HA microspheres together and kept them at the implant site, but also effectively modified the release behavior of rhBMP-2. The in vitro release and bioactivity analysis confirmed that the rhBMP2 could be loaded and released from the composite scaffolds in bioactive form. In addition, the composite scaffolds significantly reduced the initial burst release of rhBMP2, and thus providing prolonged period of time (as long as 60 days) compared with CS scaffolds. In vivo bone regenerative potential of the rhBMP2-loaded composite scaffolds was evaluated in a rabbit radius defect model. The results revealed that the rate of new bone formation in the rhBMP2-loaded hHA/CS group was higher than that in both negative control and rhBMP2-loaded CS group. These observations suggest that the hHA/CS composite scaffold would be effective and feasible as a delivery vehicle for growth factors in bone regeneration and repair.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by Key Project on Basic Research of Shanghai (Nos. 08JC1419200, 12JC1408500), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipality (No. 13ZR1444200), and Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Ai-Hua Yao, Xu-Dong Li & De-Ping Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Ai-Hua Yao & De-Ping Wang

  3. Department of Orthopedic, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330096, China

    Long Xiong & Jian-Hua Zeng

  4. Department of Orthopedic, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200233, China

    Jun Xu

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  1. Ai-Hua Yao
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Correspondence to Ai-Hua Yao or Long Xiong.

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Yao, AH., Li, XD., Xiong, L. et al. Hollow hydroxyapatite microspheres/chitosan composite as a sustained delivery vehicle for rhBMP-2 in the treatment of bone defects. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 26, 25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-014-5336-8

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