A novel airflow shearing method was introduced to prepare microspheres efficiently with precisely control of microsphere size and homogeneity. The effects of technical parameters in the formation of the microspheres, such as solution concentration, nozzle size and airflow strength, were investigated. By optimizing the technical parameters (8% PLGA concentration, 27-32 G nozzle size, 6-8 l/min airflow strength), nano-hydroxyapatite and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanocomposite (nHA/PLGA) microspheres with a diameter around 250 μm and up to 40 wt% nHA content was prepared successfully. Especially, the microspheres possessed revealed great homogeneity and unique "acorn" appearance with two sides: A hard smooth side as well as a crumpled rough side, generated in the preparation process. Furthermore, the nHA/PLGA microspheres' potential application in bone tissue engineering was studied. In vitro, enhanced proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of the MC3T3-E1 cells was observed on as-prepared nHA/PLGA microspheres with high nHA content. In vivo, the BV/TV value of the microspheres with 20 wt% nHA was up to 75% and similar to the clinical products' performance. Moreover, beside high nHA content, the rough porous surface leads to bone ingrowth, which plays an important role in accelerating bone repair. Therefore, airflow shearing method could be an effective approach to fabricate biocompatible microsphere, and the as-prepared microspheres showed unique surface state and bone repair ability and making them as potential candidates for bone tissue engineering and bone implantation clinical applications.
Keywords: Airflow shearing technique; Bone repair; Microspheres; Osteogenic differentiation.
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