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Review
. 2023 Apr 25;15(5):1334.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15051334.

Hydrogel Drug Delivery Systems for Bone Regeneration

Long Bai  1   2 , Gang Tao  3 , Maogeng Feng  3 , Yuping Xie  1 , Shuyu Cai  1 , Shuanglin Peng  1 , Jingang Xiao  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Hydrogel Drug Delivery Systems for Bone Regeneration

Long Bai et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

With the in-depth understanding of bone regeneration mechanisms and the development of bone tissue engineering, a variety of scaffold carrier materials with desirable physicochemical properties and biological functions have recently emerged in the field of bone regeneration. Hydrogels are being increasingly used in the field of bone regeneration and tissue engineering because of their biocompatibility, unique swelling properties, and relative ease of fabrication. Hydrogel drug delivery systems comprise cells, cytokines, an extracellular matrix, and small molecule nucleotides, which have different properties depending on their chemical or physical cross-linking. Additionally, hydrogels can be designed for different types of drug delivery for specific applications. In this paper, we summarize recent research in the field of bone regeneration using hydrogels as delivery carriers, detail the application of hydrogels in bone defect diseases and their mechanisms, and discuss future research directions of hydrogel drug delivery systems in bone tissue engineering.

Keywords: bone immunomodulation; bone regeneration; cartilage regeneration; drug delivery systems; hydrogels; mesenchymal stem cells; tissue engineering.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Liquid hydrogels and BMSCs were co-cultured in vitro with the addition of Factor A and Factor B, and the hydrogel mixture was cured with UV light irradiation. The cured hydrogel mixture was designed as a bone defect and cartilage defect, and it was used to fill the osteochondral defect area in layers. Factor A can promote the differentiation of BMSCs into chondrocytes and promote chondrogenesis. Factor B can induce the differentiation of BMSCs into osteoblasts and promote regeneration.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The hyaluronic acid hydrogel was cross-linked with MnCO and BMP-2, while the hydrogel was modified internally to be ROS sensitive. The hydrogel with the judgement-response feature was injected into the bone defect area of rats, and the hydrogel degraded after reacting with ROS, releasing the internal MnCO and BMP-2. MnCO can be degraded to Mn2+ and CO in the defect area, promoting macrophages to differentiate to M2 type and also causing M2 type macrophages to secrete anti-inflammatory factors VEGF and BMP-2, contributing to vascular regeneration and osteogenesis. The release of BMP-2 recruits local BMSCs, enhances their differentiation to osteoblasts and increases osteogenesis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relationships of hydrogel drug delivery systems and bone regeneration.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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