Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Although boron (B) is increasingly identified as an element that has many benefits especially on bone health, limited number of studies that are investigating the effects of B in osteoblasts in cellular/molecular level are available. Therefore, the exact mechanism of B on bone health is still unknown. However, it is known that B has an important role on the metabolism of calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and steroid hormones which have many indirect effects on bone. The aim of this study was to develop boron-containing polymeric scaffolds to promote regeneration of bone tissue. The scaffolds were prepared by using two different approaches: Embedding of boric acid encapsulated nanoparticles into the scaffolds to achieve sustained B release; combining of polymeric scaffolds with B containing hydroxyapatite (HAp) that is produced by microwave-induced biomimetic method. The scaffolds were produced and characterized in terms of structural properties and in vitro B-release patterns. The effect of released B on the osteogenic activities of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts and mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow and adipose tissue, seeded into the scaffolds was investigated in vitro. The results were evaluated with respect to cell viability, bone related ECM gene expressions, and cellular morphology. In conclusion, the cell culture studies proved that the encapsulated boron within the scaffolds can be used as an osteoinductive agent by showing its positive effects on the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells and MSCs.