Promoted Osteogenic Effects Of Hybridized Carbon Nanofibers Containing Bioactive Glass Nanoparticles On BMSCs

Bone regeneration required suitable scaffolding materials to support the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone-related cells. In this study, a kind of hybridized nanofibrous scaffold (CNF/BG) was prepared by incorporating bioactive glass (BG) nanoparticles into carbon nanofibers (CNF) via combination of BG sol-gel and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospinning, followed by carbonization. Chemical compositions of the BG component were controlled by adjusting the feeding ratios of precursors, and three types (49s,68s and 86s) of BG nanoparticles were incorporated. Therefore, the prepared CNF/BG hybrids were able to provide different amounts of soluble ions when they were used in cell culture. To understand the mechanism of CNF/BG hybrids exerting osteogenic effects, bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) were cultured directly on these hybrids (contact culture) or cultured in transwell chambers in the presence of these materials (non-contact culture). Thus, the contributions of ion release and contact effect on cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation were able to be correlated. It was found that the ionic dissolution products had limited effect on cell proliferation and slightly enhanced osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs positively depending on the amounts of released calcium and silicium ions. While the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation were significantly promoted when BMSCs were cultured on the CNF/BG hybrids, especially as the hybrid containing type 68s BG (CNF/BG(68s)) for its fastest release of soluble ions among the three hybrids. The findings revealed that synergistic effect of CNF and BG would make CNF/BG hybrids promising substrates for bone repair and regeneration.