Attachment and Proliferation of Human-Adipose-Tissue-Derived Stem Cells on Bioactive Glass/PVA Hybrid Scaffolds

Abstract

Bioactive glass/polymer hybrids are promising materials for biomedical applications because they combine the bioactivity of bioceramics with the flexibility of polymers. These advantages may be used in porous scaffolds for tissue-engineering applications. In previous works, hybrid foams bioactive glass/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were prepared by the sol-gel process. The hybrid foam 50% PVA/50% bioactive glass was chosen in the composition range studied as the scaffold with better compromise in terms of pore structure and mechanical behavior. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the adhesion, viability, and growth behavior of human-adipose-tissue-derived stem cells on bioactive glass/PVA foams in vitro and their potential as scaffold for application in bone-tissue engineering. The pore structure of the hybrid samples used in the study was analyzed by microcomputed tomography, showing a modal pore diameter of 284 μm and modal interconnect diameter of 138 μ m. We found that cells are capable of adhesion, proliferation, growth, and ECM production on the scaffolds tested. The results show that the hybrid bioactive glass/PVA is a promising material for bone repair, providing a good environment for the adhesion and proliferation of human-adipose-tissue-derived stem cells in vitro .