Reports on the local delivery of drug loaded injectable hydrogels for bone regeneration are currently limited. This study assessed the effect of controlled simvastatin (SIM) release from a thermo-sensitive hydrogel in vitro and in vivo. We successfully manufactured and evaluated thermo-sensitive poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) triblock copolymers (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) loaded with SIM. The osteogenic effect of this hydrogel was tested in vitro and in vivo. MC-3T3 E1 cells proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation was analyzed after cultivation with the hydrogel extracts. Cells co-cultured with SIM/PLGA-PEG-PLGA extracts showed an increase in mineralization and osteogenic gene expression compared to the other two groups. Additionally, the characteristics of this composite in vivo were demonstrated using a rat bone defect model. The bone defects injected with SIM/PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogel showed increased new bone formation compared to samples treated with PLGA-PEG-PLGA and control samples. The results of this study suggest that SIM/PLGA-PEG-PLGA might provide potential therapeutic value for bone healing.
Keywords: PLGA-PEG-PLGA; bone; drug delivery; simvastatin; thermo-sensitive.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.