Synergistically enhanced osteoconductivity and anti-inflammation of PLGA/β-TCP/Mg(OH)₂ composite for orthopedic applications

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Synthetic biodegradable polymers including poly(lactide-<I>co</I>-glycolide) (PLGA) have been widely used as alternatives to metallic implantable materials in the orthopedic field due to their superior biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, weak mechanical properties of the biodegradable polymers and inflammatory reaction caused by the acidic degradation products have limited their biomedical applications. In this study, we have developed a PLGA composite containing beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)<SUB>2</SUB>) as additives to improve mechanical, osteoconductivity, and anti-inflammation property of the biopolymer composite simultaneously. The β-TCP has an osteoconductive effect and the Mg(OH)<SUB>2</SUB> has a pH neutralizing effect. The PLGA/inorganic composites were uniformly blended <I>via</I> a twin extrusion process. The mechanical property of the PLGA/β-TCP/Mg(OH)<SUB>2</SUB> composite was improved compared to the pure PLGA. In particular, the addition of Mg(OH)<SUB>2</SUB> suppressed the inflammatory reaction of normal human osteoblast (NHOst) cells and also inhibited the differentiation of pre-osteoclastic cells into osteoclasts. Moreover, synergistically upregulated late osteogenic differentiation of NHOst cells was observed on the PLGA/β-TCP/Mg(OH)<SUB>2</SUB> composite. Taken all together, we believe that the use of β-TCP and Mg(OH)<SUB>2</SUB> as additives with synthetic biodegradable polymers has great potential by the synergistic effect in orthopedic applications.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> PLGA composites containing β-TCP and Mg(OH)<SUB>2</SUB> were successfully fabricated by a twin screw extrusion technique. </LI> <LI> The PLGA/inorganic composites exhibited improved mechanical properties and superior pH neutralization effect. </LI> <LI> PLGA composite showed significantly improved osteogenesis as well as reduced inflammation and osteoclastogenesis. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>