An Exploration Of The Matrix Materials For Tissue Engineering Based On Zein

Tissue engineering plays a key role in biomedical application to improve human health. During which, preparation of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering and the technique of three-dimensional cell culture are important issues in the tissue engineering. In this paper, we explored the possibility of zein as the matrix materials for tissue engineering. Firstly, zein was molded into 3-D porous scaffolds. Then the surface of 3-D porous scaffolds was coated with hydroxyapatite (HA) particles by biomimetic mineralization in different conditions. These zein-hydroxyapatite composite was characterized by identifying the chemical composition of the surface, measuring the mechanical property and observing the structure and size of the pores. Secondry, we prepared microcarriers with controllable size and high sphericity based on zein by a novel method. Cells can adhere onto the surface of the microcarriers and proliferate as good as a commercial microcarrier Cytodex 1. MethodZein was prepared to three-dimensional (3-D) porous scaffolds withdimensions of 5 mm×5 mm ×15 mm and ?2 mm×4 mm by compression molding and their porosity was characterized. Then, the zein scaffold was immersed into 5SBF for biomimetic mineralization in different conditions. The surface of the composite was observed using SEM, and the ratio of calcium and phosphorus was calculated with EDS attached. Besides, the product formed from biomimetic mineralization was identified by XRD. In addition, the strength of the coating of scaffolds with dimensions of ?2 mm*4 mm was tested to satisfy the requirement of animal experiment of bone repairment. ResultsThe best condition for biomimetic mineralization is as the following: The porous scaffolds were immersed into 5SBF and put the system into the shaking at 60 rpm and 37? for 3 days. The 5SBFwas replaced by fresh 5SBF and the scaffolds were flipped on the one and the half day. Uniform HA particles on each surface could be abtained in size of 2-10 ?m and the ratio of calcium and phosphorus was 1.40-1.67.The zein microspheres with controllable diameter could be formed when heated in glycerol. Moreover, the cells can attach onto the surface of the microspheres and proliferate well as the control, i.e., Cytodex 1.