Background: Salvianolic acid B has been proven as an effective drug to promote osteogenesis and angiogenesis which could be beneficial for bone repair.
Purpose: The objective of this study was to construct a salvianolic acid B-loaded chitosan/hydroxyapatite (Sal B-CS/HA) bone scaffold with controlled release and effective bioactivity.
Methods: The characteristics, controlled release behavior and bioactivity of Sal B-CS/HA scaffold were evaluated in vitro. The bone repair effect was evaluated in the rabbit radius defect model.
Results: The results showed that chemical and physical characteristics of salvianolic acid B and chitosan/hydroxyapatite (CS/HA) material did not obviously change after the drug loading procedure; the drug release of salvianolic acid B was stable and continuous from the Sal B-CS/HA scaffold for 8 weeks in vitro; the biocompatibility of the Sal B-CS/HA was favorable by evaluation of cell morphology and proliferation; the osteogenic and angiogenic bioactivities of the Sal B-CS/HA scaffold were proved to be effective by in vivo and in vitro tests.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that this salvianolic acid B-loaded bone scaffold has potential to be used for bone defect repair with both osteogenic and angiogenic bioactivities.
Keywords: angiogenesis, bone tissue engineering, controlled release, drug-loaded bone scaffold, osteogenesis, salvianolic acid B