In Vivo Hard and Soft Tissue Response of Two-Dimensional Nanoparticle Incorporated Biodegradable Polymeric Scaffolds

There is a growing interest in harnessing the physicochemical properties of two-dimensional organic and inorganic nanoparticles to improve bulk and surface properties of biodegradable polymers. Towards these efforts, studies that examined and compared the short and long term soft and hard tissue responses of porous polymeric biodegradable scaffolds incorporated with layered 2D carbon or inorganic nanoparticles would be beneficial. Herein, we investigate the hard and soft tissue in vivo biocompatibility of two such constructs; 90% porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocomposite scaffolds incorporated with 0.2 wt% graphene oxide nanoplatelets (GONPs) or molybdenum disulfide nanoplatelets (MSNPs). Scaffolds were implanted in a non-critical sized monocortical defect in the tibia or subcutaneously on the dorsum of a rat model for two or six weeks. Hard and soft tissue biocompatibility of the nanoparticle reinforced scaffolds was comparable to PLGA control. In addition, two weeks after implantation, s...