article · Scientific Reports
Repairing large bone defects remains a challenge because ideal scaffold biomaterials are still lacking. An evaluation of graphitic carbon nitride and graphene oxide nanomaterials examined their capacity to regenerate critical-sized bone defects using cell cultures and animal models. Both nanomaterials showed good cell viability and hemocompatibility while enhancing the expression of collagen type-I, osteocalcin, and osteopontin in human fetal osteoblast cells. When implanted into critical-sized femoral defects in rabbits over a twelve-week period, both materials accelerated healing compared to untreated controls. Graphitic carbon nitride implants achieved complete radiological and macroscopic healing, displaying higher biodegradation, greater formation of osteoid tissue and mature collagen, and higher osteocalcin and osteopontin expression than graphene oxide. The findings demonstrate that both nanomaterials can effectively induce osteogenesis.
Severe bone injuries from trauma or disease often cannot heal on their own, requiring advanced materials to guide new tissue growth. Demonstrating that carbon-based nanomaterials can safely support bone formation and achieve complete defect repair in animal models offers promising pathways for designing more effective biomaterial scaffolds for reconstructive surgery and tissue regeneration.
The findings could eventually inform the development of synthetic bone graft substitutes and tissue engineering scaffolds for orthopaedic and reconstructive surgeons. As the evidence is currently limited to in vitro cellular studies and an in vivo rabbit model, this work is at an early preclinical stage and would require extensive further biocompatibility, biomechanical, and clinical testing before real-world surgical application.
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Abstract Various biomaterials have been evaluated to enhance bone formation in critical-sized bone defects; however, the ideal scaffold is still missing. The objective of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo regenerative capacity of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) and graphene oxide (GO) nanomaterials to stimulate critical-sized bone defect regeneration. The in vitro cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility of g-C 3 N 4 and GO were evaluated, and their potential to induce the in vitro osteogenesis of human fetal osteoblast (hFOB) cells was assessed using qPCR. Then, bone defect in femoral condyles was created in rabbits and left empty as control or filled with either g-C 3 N 4 or GO. The osteogenesis of the different implanted scaffolds was evaluated after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of surgery using X-ray, computed tomography (CT), macro/microscopic examinations, and qPCR analysis of osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OP) expressions. Both materials displayed good cell viability and hemocompatibility with enhanced collagen type-I (Col-I), OC, and OP expressions of the hFOB cells. Compared to the control group, the bone healing process in g-C 3 N 4 and GO groups was promoted in vivo. Moreover, complete healing of the bone defect was observed radiologically and grossly in g-C 3 N 4 implanted group. Additionally, g-C 3 N 4 implanted group showed higher percentages of osteoid tissue, mature collagen, biodegradation, and expressions of OC and OP. In conclusion, our results revealed that g-C 3 N 4 and GO nanomaterials could induce osteogenesis in critical-sized bone defects.
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DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32487-7
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