Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs) are inorganic compounds of relevance to various domains, where their surface reactivity and/or intercalation capacities can be advantageously exploited for the retention/release of ionic and molecular species. In this study, we have explored specifically the applicability in the field of bone regeneration of one LDH composition, denoted "MgFeCO3", of which components are already present in vivo, so as to convey a biocompatibility character. The propensity to be used as a bone substitute depends, however, on their ability to allow the fabrication of 3D constructs able to be implanted in bone sites. In this work, we display two appealing approaches for the processing of MgFeCO3 LDH particles to prepare (i) porous 3D scaffolds by freeze-casting, involving an alginate biopolymeric matrix, and (ii) pure MgFeCO3 LDH monoliths by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) at low temperature. We then explored the capacity of such LDH particles or monoliths to interact quantitatively with molecular moieties/drugs in view of their local release. The experimental data were complemented by computational chemistry calculations (Monte Carlo) to examine in more detail the mineral-organic interactions at play. Finally, preliminary in vitro tests on osteoblastic MG63 cells confirmed the high biocompatible character of this LDH composition. It was confirmed that (i) thermodynamically metastable LDH could be successfully consolidated into a monolith through SPS, (ii) the LDH particles could be incorporated into a polymer matrix through freeze casting, and (iii) the LDH in the consolidated monolith could incorporate and release drug molecules in a controlled manner. In other words, our results indicate that the MgFeCO3 LDH (pyroaurite structure) may be seen as a new promising compound for the setup of bone substitute biomaterials with tailorable drug delivery capacity, including for personalized medicine.
Keywords: 3D bone scaffolds; LDH; cold sintering; computational chemistry; drug delivery; freeze-casting; porosity.