Enhancement of critical-sized bone defect regeneration using UiO-66 nanomaterial in rabbit femurs

Ahmed Abdelrahiem Sadek; Mahmoud Abd-Elkareem; Hani Nasser Abdelhamid; Samia Moustafa; Kamal Hussein

doi:10.1186/s12917-022-03347-9

Enhancement of critical-sized bone defect regeneration using UiO-66 nanomaterial in rabbit femurs

BMC Vet Res. 2022 Jul 5;18(1):260. doi: 10.1186/s12917-022-03347-9.

Authors

Ahmed Abdelrahiem Sadek¹, Mahmoud Abd-Elkareem², Hani Nasser Abdelhamid^{3

4

5}, Samia Moustafa¹, Kamal Hussein^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
² Department of Cell and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
³ Advanced Multifunctional Materials Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
⁴ Proteomics Laboratory for Clinical Research and Materials Science, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Assiut, Egypt.
⁵ Nanotechnology Research Centre (NTRC), The British University in Egypt, El-Shorouk City, Suez Desert Road, P.O. Box 43, Cairo, 11837, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. kamalhussein@aun.edu.eg.
⁷ Department of Cell and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. kamalhussein@aun.edu.eg.

Abstract

Background: Repair of large-sized bone defects is a challengeable obstacle in orthopedics and evoked the demand for the development of biomaterials that could induce bone repair in such defects. Recently, UiO-66 has emerged as an attractive metal-organic framework (MOF) nanostructure that is incorporated in biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility, porosity, and stability. In addition, its osteogenic properties have earned a great interest as a promising field of research. Thus, the UiO-66 was prepared in this study and assessed for its potential to stimulate and support osteogenesis in vitro and in vivo in a rabbit femoral condyle defect model. The nanomaterial was fabricated and characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Afterward, in vitro cytotoxicity and hemolysis assays were performed to investigate UiO-66 biocompatibility. Furthermore, the material in vitro capability to upregulate osteoblast marker genes was assessed using qPCR. Next, the in vivo new bone formation potential of the UiO-66 nanomaterial was evaluated after induction of bone defects in rabbit femoral condyles. These defects were left empty or filled with UiO-66 nanomaterial and monitored at weeks 4, 8, and 12 after bone defect induction using x-ray, computed tomography (CT), histological examinations, and qPCR analysis of osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OP) expressions.

Results: The designed UiO-66 nanomaterial showed excellent cytocompatibility and hemocompatibility and stimulated the in vitro osteoblast functions. The in vivo osteogenesis was enhanced in the UiO-66 treated group compared to the control group, whereas evidence of healing of the treated bone defects was observed grossly and histologically. Interestingly, UiO-66 implanted defects displayed a significant osteoid tissue and collagen deposition compared to control defects. Moreover, the UiO-66 nanomaterial demonstrated the potential to upregulate OC and OP in vivo.

Conclusions: The UiO-66 nanomaterial implantation possesses a stimulatory impact on the healing process of critical-sized bone defects indicating that UiO-66 is a promising biomaterial for application in bone tissue engineering.

Keywords: Bone healing; Critical-sized bone defect; Regeneration; UiO-66.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biocompatible Materials
Bone Regeneration / physiology
Femur
Metal-Organic Frameworks
Nanostructures*
Organometallic Compounds*
Phthalic Acids
Rabbits

Substances

Biocompatible Materials
Metal-Organic Frameworks
Organometallic Compounds
Phthalic Acids
UiO-66