Hierarchical porous Mg2SiO4-CoFe2O4 nanomagnetic scaffold for bone cancer therapy and regeneration: Surface modification and in vitro studies

Abstract 3D multifunctional bone scaffolds have recently attracted more attention in bone tissue engineering because of addressing critical issues like bone cancer and inflammation beside bone regeneration. In this study, a 3D bone scaffold is fabricated from Mg2SiO4-CoFe2O4 nanocomposite which is synthesized via a two-step synthesis strategy and then the scaffold's surface is modified with poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB)-ordered mesoporous magnesium silicate (OMMS) composite to improve its physicochemical and biological properties. The Mg2SiO4-CoFe2O4 scaffold is fabricated through polymer sponge technique and the scaffold exhibits an interconnected porous structure in the range of 100–600 μm. The scaffold is then coated with OMMS/P3HB composite via dip coating and the physical, chemical, and biological-related properties of OMMS/P3HB composite-coated scaffold are assessed and compared to the non-coated and P3HB-coated scaffolds in vitro. It is found that, on the one hand, P3HB increases the cell attachment, proliferation, and compressive strength of the scaffold, but on the other hand, it weakens the bioactivity kinetic. Addition of OMMS to the coating composition is accompanied with significant increase in bioactivity kinetic. Besides, OMMS/P3HB composite-coated scaffold exhibits higher drug loading capacity and more controlled release manner up to 240 h than the other samples because of OMMS which has a high surface area and ordered mesoporous structure suitable for controlled release applications. The overall results indicate that OMMS/P3HB coating on Mg2SiO4-CoFe2O4 scaffold leads to a great improvement in bioactivity, drug delivery potential, compressive strength, cell viability, and proliferation. Moreover, OMMS/P3HB composite-coated scaffold has heat generation capability for hyperthermia-based bone cancer therapy and so it is suggested as a multifunctional scaffold with great potentials for bone cancer therapy and regeneration.