Evaluating biocompatibility of vaterite-mineralized polycaprolactone matrices in subcutaneous implantation tests on white rats

Objective: to estimate biocompatibility of matrices manufactured from polycaprolactone (PCL) and mineralized by vaterite (CaCO3) via studying local and systemic manifestations of inflammatory reaction in subcutaneous implantation tests on white rats. Material and Methods. The experiment was conducted on 40 rats divided into four groups of equal sizes: control, comparison (rats with imitation of implantation), negative control (rats with implanted non-biocompatible matrices) and experimental group, comprised of animals with implanted PCL/CaCO3-matrices. Local inflammatory manifestations were analyzed by morphological investigation of implantation area tissues. Systemic inflammatory manifestations were estimated via TNF-α and interleukin-1β (IL-1) concentrations in blood serum by ELISA. Results. The changes in cellular population content demonstrated that, on day 21 after the implantation, the PCL/CaCO3-matrice was evenly colonized by fibroblast cells and afterwards vascularized. Such matrices did not cause intense inflammatory reaction observed in negative control animals. It was accompanied by systemic manifestations, such as statistically significant increase in TNF-α and IL-1 concentrations. Conclusion. Our data confirmed the biocompatibility of PLC/CaCO3-scaffolds, thus experimentally substantiating the potential for their use in tissue engineering.