Evaluation of hMSCs response to sodium alginate / bioactive glass composite paste: effect of CaO/P2O5, sodium alginate concentration and P/L ratios.

BACKGROUND: Bioactive glasses with different compositions have been extensively used as bone tissue engineering. Preparation, development and characterization of alginate pastes containing bioglass for bone repair applications were the purpose of this study.

OBJECTIVE: The injectable bone pastes were produced from sol-gel derived bioactive glass nanoparticles with various CaO/P2O5 ratios of 19, 9.5 and 4.75 and sodium alginate solutions with different concentrations of 1, 2 and 4 wt.%. The effect of CaO/P2O5 and powder to liquid (P/L) ratios and alginate concentration on injectability, biodegradation, rheological properties, bioactivity and cellular behavior of the pastes have been studied. The behavior of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in presence of the pastes was assessed by MTT assay, biomineralization assay, ALP activity, Acridine orange staining and Alizarin red staining tests.

RESULTS: By adding sodium alginate, the pastes exhibited a thixotropy behavior. The storage modulus of all pastes was larger than the loss modulus in the frequency range of 0.1-100 s-1. Cytotoxicity evaluation results revealed that, there was a critical amount of bioactive glass in pastes which above the limit; the viability of hMSCs will be at risk. The pastes made of bioactive glass nanoparticles with CaO/P2O5=9.5 and sodium alginate 1% with P/L ratio of 0.8 showed optimum behavior in terms of mineral carrying capacity, injectability characteristics, accellular bioactivity in SBF, loss weight and wash out behavior, proliferation and differentiation of hMSCs.

CONCLUSION: According to the results, the pastes prepared with sodium alginate solution and bioactive glass nanoparticles can be beneficial in bone tissue engineering.