MESOPOROUS BIOACTIVE GLASS COMPOSITE SCAFFOLD FOR THE DELIVERY OF ICARIIN TO OPTIMIZE BONE TURNOVER

Abstract

Incidence of osteoporotic fractures is on the rise with ageing population. In surgical treatment of these fractures, anchorage of implant to bone is often compromised because of imbalance between bone formation and resorption. The thesis addresses this issue with development of a novel mesoporous bioactive glass drug delivery system for localized application of a bone-forming bioactive molecule while minimizing systemic adverse effects.

Mesoporous bioactive glass has superior bioactivity and cytocompatibility. Its hierarchical configuration is similar to native bone. The porous structures allow higher efficacy of compound adsorption. This bioactive material is made into nanoparticles and further incorporated into polycaprolactone scaffold via electrohydrodynamic jet printing technology.

In addition to the delivery system, loading a naturally derived extract from traditional Chinese herbal medicine known to improve bone health serves as an alternative for chemically synthesized medicines. By combining icariin, the target molecule, with delivery system, their synergistic effects can optimize bone remodelling.