Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a major burden on individuals, health and social care systems. Customized approaches would not significantly benefit patient outcomes and follow-up treatments, and may result in expensive and sometimes irreversible backsets. Nanostructured bioceramics are able to bolster scientific efforts for tissue regeneration because of their excellent osteogenic capacity.¹ The incorporation of metal ions into the nanostructures have shown to play functional roles in the physiological cellular environment and influence the bone health, while strengthening the mechanical properties of the implants.² This study targets to evaluate calcium phosphate bioceramics functionalized with different metal ions, as integral parts of nanostructures designed for MSD regeneration. Results showed that incorporating metal ions, such as Zn, Sr, Mn, and Li into the bioceramics, can increase crystallinity, solubility, and mechanical strength in the range of the cancellous bone values (2-12 MPa), due to ion labelling. The release profile varied together with ions content in the materials showing a preferential release of Zn²⁺ in comparison to Sr^2+. The biological performance of human adipose derived stem cells (hASCs) presented different responses on cell proliferation/differentiation with the incorporation of different metal ions. hASCs were induced to differentiate toward a osteogenic phenotype by culturing onto the ions coated structures as demonstrated by ALP activity and alizarin red staining. Proliferation is stimulated when Zn is incorporated, while Sr and Mn showed greater osteogenic potential. Therefore, several parameters play a crucial role in the performance of bioceramics functionalized with ionic metals, for the new tissue formation process. Moreover, it is beneficial the incorporation of metals into structures, thus helping a continuous release to support early induction of osteoblast differentiation, and therefore osteogenesis.

References

1. S Pina, JM Oliveira, RL Reis, Advanced Materials 2015;27: 1143–1169.

2. S Pina, RF Canadas, G Jiménez, Cells Tissues Organs 2017;204:150.