Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate containing scaffolds and their integration with osteoblasts as a model for bone tissue engineering.

Nano/micro engineered polymeric materials offer expansive scope of biomimetic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering especially those involving electrospun biodegradable nanofibers incorporated with inorganic nanoparticles, thus mimicking the extracellular matrix of bone both structurally and chemically. For the first time, poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate containing natural poly-(α, β)-DL-aspartic acid and inorganic hydroxyapatite nanofibers were fabricated using poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate: poly-(α, β)-DL-aspartic acid at a ratio of 80:20 (w/w) added with 1% (w/v) of hydroxyapatite, by the process of electrospinning. The surface morphology, chemical, and mechanical properties of electrospun poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate, poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate/poly-(α, β)-DL-aspartic acid, and poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate/poly-(α, β)-DL-aspartic acid/hydroxyapatite nanofibers were characterized by using field emission scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and tensile tester, respectively. Human fetal osteoblasts were cultured on different nanofibrous scaffolds for evaluating the cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mineralization. Cells on poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate/poly-(α, β)-DL-aspartic acid/hydroxyapatite scaffolds demonstrated higher proliferation (30.10%) and mineral deposition (37.60%) than the cells grown on pure poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate scaffolds. Obtained results highlight the synergistic effect of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate, poly-(α, β)-DL-aspartic acid, and hydroxyapatite towards the enhancement of the osteoinductivity and osteoconductivity of human fetal osteoblasts, demonstrating the appropriate physicochemical and biological properties of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate/poly-(α, β)-DL-aspartic acid/hydroxyapatite nanofibers to function as a substrate for bone tissue regeneration.