Competition of carrier bioresorption and drug release kinetics of vancomycin-loaded silicate macroporous microspheres to determine cell biocompatibility

TL;DR

This study investigates how the balance between bioresorption and drug release in vancomycin-loaded silicate microspheres affects their compatibility with human stem cells, relevant for bone tissue engineering.

Contribution

It reveals that carrier bioresorption kinetics significantly influence cell biocompatibility, advancing understanding of drug delivery systems in bioceramics.

Findings

Bredigite showed the lowest cell viability and proliferation.

Akermanite had intermediate biocompatibility.

Diopside exhibited the highest cell viability.

Abstract

Bioceramic porous microspheres are promising substances for dental and orthopedic bone void filling, tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. In this research, the structure and cytocompatibility of bioactive magnesium-calcium silicate macroporous microspheres loaded with vancomycin hydrochloride, an antibiotic drug, were studied. In this regard, bredigite (Ca7MgSi4O16), akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7) and diopside (CaMgSi2O6) carriers were fabricated through a sequence of sol-gel, calcination, droplet extrusion and sintering processes, followed by impregnated with vancomycin. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy verified the formation of the desired ceramic crystalline phases and macroporous characteristics of the carriers, respectively. Based on the MTT assay, the antibiotic-loaded bredigite, akermanite and diopside devices comparatively exhibited the lowest, intermediate and highest levels of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) viability and proliferation, respectively. It was concluded that the role of the carrier bioresorption kinetics prevails over the drug delivery kinetics in determining the cell biocompatibility of the devices.