Open AccessA three-dimensional block structure consisting exclusively of carbon nanotubes serving as bone regeneration scaffold and as bone defect filler
Author(s) -
Manabu Tanaka,
Yoshinori Sato,
Hisao Haniu,
Hiroki Nomura,
Shinsuke Kobayashi,
Seiji Takanashi,
Masato Okamoto,
Takashi Takizawa,
Katsumi Aoki,
Yuki Usui,
Ayumu Oishi,
Hiroyuki Kato
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0172601
Subject(s) - scaffold , materials science , carbon nanotube , biomedical engineering , regeneration (biology) , bone healing , bone morphogenetic protein , composite material , chemistry , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , biochemistry , gene , biology
Many recent studies have been conducted to assess the ability of composite materials containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with high bone affinity to serve as scaffolds in bone regenerative medicine. These studies have demonstrated that CNTs can effectively induce bone formation. However, no studies have investigated the usefulness of scaffolds consisting exclusively of CNTs in bone regenerative medicine. We built a three-dimensional block entity with maximized mechanical strength from multi-walled CNTs (MWCNT blocks) and evaluated their efficacy as scaffold material for bone repair. When MWCNT blocks containing recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) were implanted in mouse muscle, ectopic bone was formed in direct contact with the blocks. Their bone marrow densities were comparable to those of PET-reinforced collagen sheets with rhBMP-2. On day 1 and day 3, MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts were attached to the scaffold surface of MWCNT blocks than that of PET-reinforced collagen sheets. They also showed a maximum compression strength comparable to that of cortical bone. Our MWCNT blocks are expected to serve as bone defect filler and scaffold material for bone regeneration.