Iodinated poly(p-dioxanone) as a facile platform for X-ray imaging of resorbable implantable medical devices.

Currently, implantable fibrous medical devices still suffer from invisibility under current clinical imaging techniques. To address this problem, 2, 3, 5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) was recruited as a contrast agent, and then a set of iodinated poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) fibers was fabricated via melt-spinning hybrid blends of PPDO with TIBA (PPDO/TIBA). The impact of TIBA content on the rheological behavior of blends was evaluated firstly. The physical, chemical, and thermal properties of PPDO/TIBA fibers were investigated accordingly by SEM, FTIR, DSC, and TGA. Moreover, the radiopaque property of PPDO/TIBA hybrid fibers as a potential radio-opacifying platform for medical devices was verified in vitro and in vivo. Finally, the accumulated release results of the hybrid fibers during in vitro degradation indicate the continual X-ray visibility of the hybrid fibers maintains for 22 days. This intriguing iodinated platform may pave the way for constructing fibrous materials with in-situ X-ray tracking property.

Tricalcium Phosphate Sol-Incorporated Poly(ε-caprolactone) Membrane with Improved Mechanical and Osteoinductive Activity as an Artificial Periosteum.

The periosteum plays a very important role in bone remodeling and regeneration due to its excellent osteogenic ability. However, in bone defects, the periosteum is inevitably damaged, has poor self-repair ability, and requires artificial materials as a substitute. This study is aimed to fabricate a highly bioactive poly(ε-caprolactone)/tricalcium phosphate sol (PCL/TCP sol) hybrid membrane as an artificial periosteum covering the surface of the bone defect to enhance bone regeneration. Three kinds of PCL membranes with different TCP contents were prepared and marked as P20T1 (4.8 wt %), P10T1 (9.1 wt %), and P5T1 (16.7 wt %). The physicochemical properties' evaluation confirmed that TCP sol was homogeneously dispersed in the PCL nanofibers. Compared with P5T1, samples P10T1 and P20T1 had enhanced the mechanical properties and a moderately hydrophilic surface (67.3 ± 2.4° for P20T1 and 48.9 ± 4.1° for P10T1). The biomineralization of hybrid membranes was significantly improved compared to the PCL membrane. Moreover, hybrid membranes significantly upregulated the rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells' (rBMSCs) response (proliferation and osteogenic differentiation) to them, and P10T1 showed better surface properties (hydrophilicity, bioactivity, and biomineralization) than P20T1. Thus, sample P10T1 with the best properties in this study has great potential as an artificial periosteum to accelerate bone regeneration.