In vivo Behaviour of BonelikeÒ/PLGA Hybrid: Histological Analysis and Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQ-CT) Evaluation

The present work consisted in assessing the in vivo biological behaviour of novel Bonelike/PLGA hybrid materials through subcutaneous and tibiae implantations for a 4 week period using an animal model. No sign of inflammation was observed as a result of subcutaneous implantation, which reveals that these materials were well-tolerated by the soft tissues. pQ-CT analysis demonstrated that the implanted materials were highly osteointegrated in bone tissue. SEM analysis at bone defect area revealed that Bonelike resorption occurred after 4 weeks of implantation. Although the osteoconductive properties of Bonelike have been reported in literature, the present work allowed to demonstrate that the silane-coupling agent and the PLGA treatments do not significantly modify the biological performance of Bonelike. This result is strongly encouraging since Bonelike/PLGA hybrid materials are being developed for bone tissue healing/regeneration purposes with simultaneous delivery of therapeuthic molecules.