Liquid flow in scaffold derived from natural source: experimental observations and biological outcome

Elisabetta Salerno; Giulia Orlandi; Claudio Ongaro; Alessandro d'Adamo; Andrea Ruffini; Gianluca Carnevale; Barbara Zardin; Jessika Bertacchini; Diego Angeli

doi:10.1093/rb/rbac034

Liquid flow in scaffold derived from natural source: experimental observations and biological outcome

Regen Biomater. 2022 May 30:9:rbac034. doi: 10.1093/rb/rbac034. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Elisabetta Salerno¹, Giulia Orlandi², Claudio Ongaro³, Alessandro d'Adamo³, Andrea Ruffini⁴, Gianluca Carnevale², Barbara Zardin³, Jessika Bertacchini², Diego Angeli⁵

Affiliations

¹ CNR-NANO S3 Research Center on Nanostructures and Biosystems at Surfaces, Modena I-41125, Italy.
² Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences with Interest in Transplant, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena 41125, Italy.
³ DIEF-Engineering Department "Enzo Ferrari", University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena 41125, Italy.
⁴ Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics (ISTEC), National Research Council (CNR), Faenza 48018, Italy.
⁵ Department of Sciences and Methods for Engineering, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia 42122, Italy.

Abstract

This study investigates the biological effects on a 3D scaffold based on hydroxyapatite cultured with MC3T3 osteoblasts in response to flow-induced shear stress (FSS). The scaffold adopted here (B-HA) derives from the biomorphic transformation of natural wood and its peculiar channel geometry mimics the porous structure of the bone. From the point of view of fluid dynamics, B-HA can be considered a network of micro-channels, intrinsically offering the advantages of a microfluidic system. This work, for the first time, offers a description of the fluid dynamic properties of the B-HA scaffold, which are strongly connected to its morphology. These features are necessary to determine the FSS ranges to be applied during in vitro studies to get physiologically relevant conditions. The selected ranges of FSS promoted the elongation of the attached cells along the flow direction and early osteogenic cell differentiation. These data confirmed the ability of B-HA to promote the differentiation process along osteogenic lineage. Hence, such a bioactive and naturally derived scaffold can be considered as a promising tool for bone regeneration applications.

Keywords: 3D scaffold; flow resistance; fluid shear stress; hydroxyapatite.