Pre-osteoblastic cell responses on poly (ε-caprolactone)- organosiloxane nanocomposite prepared by sol-gel method

The pre-osteoblastic cell responses on poly(ε-caprolactone)- organosiloxane nanocomposite containing silanol groups was carried out to find out the origin of its good osteogenic properties. A poly(ε-caprolactone)- organosiloxane nanocomposite containing silanol groups was synthesized through sol-gel method. The adhesion, proliferation and differentiation activities of pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser microscopy analysis, MTS assay, Western blotting of integrins (α5β1 and α3βv), ALP activity test, RT-PCR, and calcium content assays. Tissue culture plate was used as a control. Cell adhesion on poly(ε-caprolactone)-organosiloxane nanocomposite was similar to that on tissue culture plate. However, α5β1 integrin expression on poly(ε-caprolactone)-organosiloxane nanocomposite was higher than that on tissue culture plate whereas α3βv expression was similar to each other. Proliferation activity on poly(ε-caprolactone)-organosiloxane nanocomposite was lower than that on tissue culture plate whereas differentiation activity was much higher. Thus, it can be known that the excellent differentiation activity of MC3T3-E1 cells on poly(ε- caprolactone)-organosiloxane nanocomposite might be originated from their high α5β1 integrin expression. From the results, it can be concluded that poly(ε-caprolactone)-organosiloxane nanocomposite containing silanol groups made by solgel method has a good osteoblast responses. It means it has a potential to be used as a bone grafting material or tissue engineering scaffold material because of its apatite-forming ability, good bone cell responses, and osteoconductivity.