Tautomerizable beta-Ketonitrile Copolymers for Bone Tissue Engineering: Studies of Biocompatibility and Cytotoxicity

M. LAURA LASTRA; M. SILVINA MOLINUEVO; JUAN M. GIUSSI; PATRICIA E. ALLEGRETTI; IWONA BLASZCZYK-LEZAK; CARMEN MIJANGOS; M. SUSANA CORTIZO

MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING. C, BIOMIMETIC MATERIALS, SENSORS AND SYSTEMS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 51 p. 256 - 262

0928-4931

beta-ketonitrile tautomeric copolymers have demonstrated tunable hydrophilicity / hydrophobicity properties according to surrounding environment, and mechanical properties similar to those of bone human tissue. Both characteristic properties make them promising candidates as biomaterials for bone tissue engineering. Based on this knowledge we have designed two scaffolds based on ?ketonitrile tautomeric copolymers which differ in chemical composition and surface morphology. Two of them were nanostructured, using an anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template, and the other two obtained by solvent casting methodology, in order to evaluate the effect of the composition and these structural modifications on the biocompatibility, cytotoxicity and degradation properties. Our results showed that the nanostructured scaffolds exhibited higher degradation rate than casted scaffolds by macrophages, and this degradation rate was compatible with bone regeneration times. We also demonstrated that the beta-ketonitrile tautomeric based scaffolds supports osteoblastic cell proliferation and differentiation without cytotoxicity, suggesting that these biomaterials could be useful in the bone tissue engineering field.