Mesoporous bioactive glass/bacterial cellulose composite scaffolds for bone support materials

In this study, a nanocomposite scaffold composed of mesoporous bioactive glass/bacterial cellulose (MBG/BC) has been synthesized using an in situ membrane-liquid interface culture. In the resulting MBG/BC nanocomposites, MBG is homogeneously distributed in the three-dimensional BC matrix. In vitro mineralization experiments revealed that incorporating MBG into BC scaffolds enhanced their bioactivity. Subsequently, human bone marrow stromal cells (hMBSCs) were seeded onto MBG/BC scaffolds, and the effect of MBG on biocompatibility and bone regeneration was evaluated by analyzing the cell morphology, measuring cell viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and osteogenic-related gene expression. The results showed that MBG/BC nanocomposite scaffolds exhibited an increase in hMBSC proliferation, ALP activity, and osteogenic-related gene expression compared to bare BC scaffolds. We believe that the scalable and simple green method can be used in fabricating other BC-based nanocomposite scaffolds, and that the MBG/BC scaffolds are considered a promising candidate for treatment of bone defects. In this study, a novel membrane-liquid interface culturing method for the preparation of 3D MBG/BC nanocomposite scaffolds has been proposed. Unlike conventional static culture method, this method can not only produce thick MBG/BC nanocomposites but also ensure the uniform distribution of MBG nanofibers throughout the samples at any arbitrary thickness. Furthermore, it is a scalable, versatile, and ecofriendly method. • A novel three-dimensional scaffold was prepared by the layer-by-layer (LBL) interface culture method. • This scaffold was composed of mesoporous bioactive glass and bacterial cellulose nanofibers. • The scaffold possessed excellent in vitro bioactivity. • The nanocomposite scaffold showed improved cell proliferation, ALP activity and osteogenic-related gene expression.