TITLE:
Evaluation of Bone Regeneration of Simvastatin Loaded Chitosan Nanofiber Membranes in Rodent Calvarial Defects
AUTHORS:
Najib Ghadri, K. Mark Anderson, Pradeep Adatrow, Sidney H. Stein, Hengjie Su, Franklin Garcia-Godoy, Anastasios Karydis, Joel D. Bumgardner
KEYWORDS:
Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR), Chitosan, Simvastatin, Calvarial Defect, Membrane, Nanofiber
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomaterials and Nanobiotechnology,
Vol.9 No.2,
April
27,
2018
ABSTRACT: Chitosan nanofiber membranes have been known to have
a high degree of biocompatibility and support new bone formation with
controllable biodegradation. The surface area of these membranes may allow them
to serve as local delivery carriers for different biologic mediators. Simvastatin,
a drug commonly used for lowering cholesterol, has demonstrated promising bone
regenerative capability. The aim of this study was to evaluate simvastatin
loaded chitosan nanofiber membranes for guided bone regeneration (GBR)
applications and their ability to enhance bone formation in rat calvarial
defects. Nanofibrous chitosan membranes with random fiber orientation were
fabricated by electrospinning technique and loaded with 0.25 mg of simvastatin
under sterile conditions. One membrane was implanted subperiosteally to cover
an 8 mm diameter critical size calvarial defect. Two groups: 1)
Control: non-loaded chitosan membranes; 2)
Experimental: chitosan membranes loaded with 0.25 mg of simvastatin were
evaluated histologically and via micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) for bone
formation at 4 and 8 weeks time points (n = 5/group per time point). Both groups exhibited good
biocompatibility with only mild or moderate inflammatory response during the
healing process. Histologic and micro-CT evaluations confirmed bone formation
in calvarial defects as early as 4 weeks using control and experimental
membranes. In addition, newly-formed bony bridges consolidating calvarial
defects histologically along with partial radiographic defect coverage were
observed at 8 weeks in both groups. Although control and experimental groups
demonstrated no significant statistical differences in results of bone
formation, biodegradable chitosan nanofiber membranes loaded with simvastatin
showed a promising regenerative potential as a barrier material for guided bone
regeneration applications.