明胶微球在骨组织工程中的应用

Application of gelatin microspheres in bone tissue engineering

摘要:

骨组织工程通过联合利用种子细胞、生物活性因子和支架材料等要素来构建骨组织再生微环境，从而促进骨缺损的修复重建来诱导骨再生。明胶微球具有多孔性、生物降解性、生物相容性及生物安全性等优势，是一种极具应用潜能的骨修复材料。明胶微球用于体外培养种子细胞时可实现高效扩增。多官能团结构使其可作为促血管再生因子、促骨再生因子及抗感染因子等多种药物的递送载体，缓释药物的同时也可实现微球的多功能化。在构建明胶微球支架时与其他生物材料复合及血管化性能的赋予可提高支架材料的综合性能，但目前支架的设计还存在如何兼顾材料多孔结构和力学性能的问题。本文主要综述了明胶微球的常见制备技术及其近年来在骨组织工程中的应用，并对未来的发展前景进行展望。

Abstract:

Gelatin microspheres were discussed as a scaffold material for bone tissue engineering, with the advantages of its porosity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and biosafety highlighted. This review discusses how bone regeneration is aided by the three fundamental components of bone tissue engineering—seed cells, bioactive substances, and scaffold materials—and how gelatin microspheres can be employed for in vitro seed cell cultivation to ensure efficient expansion. This review also points out that gelatin microspheres are advantageous as drug delivery systems because of their multifunctional nature, which slows drug release and improves overall effectiveness. Although gelatin microspheres are useful for bone tissue creation, the scaffolds that take into account their porous structure and mechanical characteristics might be difficult to be created. This review then discusses typical techniques for creating gelatin microspheres, their recent application in bone tissue engineering, as well as possible future research directions.