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Browsing by Author "Beppu, Marisa M."

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  • Development of silk fibroin/nanohydroxyapatite composite hydrogels for bone tissue engineering
    Publication . Ribeiro, Marta; Moraes, Mariana A. de; Beppu, Marisa M.; Garcia, Mónica P.; Fernandes, Maria H.; Monteiro, Fernando J.; Ferraz, Maria Pia
    This work presents a novel composite hydrogel consisting of silk fibroin (SF) and nanohydroxyapatite (nanoHA) prepared by a new and innovative method using ethanol as gelling agent capable of forming hydrogels in few minutes. The properties of the composite material, such as the microstructure as well as the chemical and physical properties were studied. Moreover in␣vitro studies of osteoblastic citocompatibility were performed. The microporosity and macroporosity obtained combined with interconnected porous structure and a uniform dispersion of nanoHA particles throughout the fibroin matrix makes composite hydrogel suitable for bone regeneration. The compression modulus of composite hydrogels was increased as the nanoHA concentration increased from 10 to 15 wt.% and the water uptake ability of these materials decreased with the incorporation of nanoHA. The metabolic and alkaline phosphatase activities of osteoblastic cells were improved with the incorporation of nanoHA in the SF matrix providing a more promising material for bone tissue engineering.
    2015Journal article Restricted access Show more
  • Silk fibroin/nanohydroxyapatite hydrogels for promoted bioactivity and osteoblastic proliferation and differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells
    Publication . Ribeiro, Marta; Fernandes, Maria H.; Beppu, Marisa M.; Monteiro, Fernando J.; Ferraz, Maria Pia
    Silk fibroin (SF) is a natural, biocompatible, and biodegradable polymer having a great potential for the successful regeneration of damaged bone tissue. In the present work, nanohydroxyapatite (nanoHA) was incorporated into SF polymer to form a bioactive composite hydrogel for applications as bone implants. The degradation and bioactive properties of SF/nanoHA composite hydrogels were evaluated. Additionally, biological investigations of human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) viability, proliferation and differentiation to the osteoblastic phenotype were conducted. The incorporation of nanoHA in SF polymer matrices improved the bioactivity of the hydrogels. The biological results highlighted that the SF/nanoHA composite hydrogels are suitable for hBMSCs attachment and proliferation, while a test for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) expression suggested osteoblast differentiation. Additionally, a cell staining method for ALP allowed to observe cell infiltration with active production of ALP by the infiltrated cells, paving the way to use the proposed composite hydrogel for bone tissue regeneration.
    2018Journal article Open access Show more