Biocompatibility and osteogenesis of calcium phosphate composite scaffolds containing simvastatin-loaded PLGA microspheres for bone tissue engineering

By utilizing a modified solid/oil/water (s/o/w) emulsion solvent evaporation technique, calcium phosphate composite scaffolds containing simvastatin-loaded PLGA microspheres (SIM-PLGA-CPC) were prepared in this study. We characterized the morphology, encapsulation efficiency and in vitro drug release of SIM-loaded PLGA microspheres as well as the macrostructure, pore size, porosity and mechanical strength of the scaffolds. Rabbit bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were seeded onto SIM-PLGA-CPC scaffolds, and the proliferation, morphology, cell cycle and differentiation of BMSCs were investigated using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), flow cytometry, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and alizarin red S staining, respectively. The results revealed that SIM-PLGA-CPC scaffolds were biocompatible and osteogenic in vitro. To determine the in vivo biocompatibility and osteogenesis of the scaffolds, both pure PLGA-CPC scaffolds and SIM-PLGA-CPC scaffolds were implanted in rabbit femoral condyles and microradiographically and histologically investigated. SIM-PLGA-CPC scaffolds exhibited good biocompatibility and could improve the efficiency of new bone formation. All these results suggested that the SIM-PLGA-CPC scaffolds fulfilled the basic requirements of bone tissue engineering scaffold and possessed application potentials in orthopedic surgery. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 103A: 3250–3258, 2015.