Abstract
Osteoporosis is a worldwide spread, silent disease steadily increasing due to demographic shift; it results in bone loss and increased porosity that lead to an increase in bone fragility and to low-energy fractures. In such a contest, we worked on the development of 3D scaffolds engineered to mimic the features of human healthy bone. Healthy and osteoporotic bone microCT scans were obtained from tissues discarded during surgical interventions (Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli-Italy). The obtained .STL file was used to 3D print a type I collagen solution to mimic bone matrix whereas mesoporous bioactive glass/nano-hydroxyapatite were embedded within the collagen fibers to mimic the inorganic phase of human bone. The rheological properties of the Type I collagen/mesoporous glass suspensions were investigated at different collagen concentration and temperatures. The possibility of incorporating growth factors (IGF and β-TGF) in the scaffold struts was investigated proposing several approaches and their retained activity was assessed. Different co-culture of osteoblasts and osteoclasts set-ups were explored in order to define the influence of both chemical and topographical stimuli on the osteoblast-osteoclast coupling.
