Cell proliferation and tissue compatibility of organic-inorganic hybrid materials

Sol-gel preparation of few organic-inorganic hybrids have been reviewed briefly as well as their behaviors under contact with blood plasma using a simulated body fluid (SBF) of the Kokubo recipe mimicking plasma. The starting resources of the hybrids included not only such silanes as poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), and titanium tetra-isopropoxide, but gelatin and chitosan. Apatite deposition in SBF was examined for the solid hybrids or membranes, and cell compatibility was assessed on proliferating osteoblastic cells (MC3T3E1, MG63). In addition, 3-dimensional interconnected pore structure was established for those hybrids, for which the possibility for scaffold and bioreactor applications was examined in terms of cell proliferation of human hepatocytes or keratinocytes. Gelatin-GPTMS and PDMS-TEOS scaffolds were implanted in brain defects to see no inflammation. Nerve cell tissue regeneration was observed, which was enhanced by the impregnation of growth factors, like bFGF and VEGF. With observing those empirical data, the silane based organic-inorganic hybrids have been considered very promising for tissue regeneration scaffolds.