Page 391 - IJB-10-5

International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Dexamethasone-loaded PLGA porous

microspheres used as 3D-bioprinted bioink
promote tissue-engineered cartilage

regeneration

Zhuoqi Chen , Yanjun Feng , Yuchen Wang , Tianfeng Zheng , Jinshi Zeng ,
1†
1†
1
1†
1†
Wenshuai Liu , Yue Ma , Xiaowei Yue , Tian Li , Luosha Gu , Qinghua Yang *,
1
1
1
1
1
1
Haiyue Jiang *, and Xia Liu *
1
1,2
1 Research Center of Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking
Union Medical College, Beijing, China
2 Key Laboratory of External Tissue and Organ Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Medical
Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: 3D printing for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine)
Abstract
The current investigation focused on fabricating and thoroughly analyzing porous
microspheres (MPs) comprising poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid, PLGA) encapsulating
† These authors contributed equally
to this work. dexamethasone, by utilizing the water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion solvent
evaporation technique. The meticulous characterization encompassed various
*Corresponding authors: parameters, including particle size distribution, morphology, and polymer integrity,
Xia Liu
(liuxia@psh.pumc.edu.cn) all of which exhibited consistent attributes across the MPs populations. The analysis
Qinghua Yang of drug content and release kinetics revealed a sustained and controlled liberation
(yqh114502@sina.com) of dexamethasone, characterized by an initial burst release within the initial 3 days
Haiyue Jiang followed by a gradual, protracted release profile. Subsequent in vivo assessments
(Jianghaiyue@psh.pumc.edu.cn) further validated the potent anti-inflammatory effects of the dexamethasone-loaded
Citation: Chen Z, Feng Y, Wang Y, PLGA MPs, as evidenced by notable reductions in CD86 immunohistochemical
et al. Dexamethasone-loaded staining intensity, along with the change in membrane thickness. Additionally, the
PLGA porous microspheres
used as 3D-bioprinted bioink MPs demonstrated an impressive capability to support the maintenance of cartilage
promote tissue-engineered phenotype, as indicated by the augmented secretion of cartilage matrix components
cartilage regeneration. and elevated glycosaminoglycan content.
Int J Bioprint. 2024;10(5):3396.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.3396
Received: April 9, 2024 Keywords: Cartilage repair; Porous microspheres; Dexamethasone; PLGA porous
Accepted: June 3, 2024 microspheres; Targeted drug delivery; 3D bioprinting
Published Online: August 27, 2024
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution 1. Introduction
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, Microtia is a common congenital anomaly affecting outer ear development, typically
provided the original work is characterized by abnormal or defective auricular morphology. Despite its prevalence,
properly cited. the exact cause of microtia remains unclear, with an incidence rate ranging from 0.83
1
Publisher’s Note: AccScience to 17.4 per 10,000 births. The primary challenge in microtia reconstruction lies in
Publishing remains neutral with selecting suitable materials for cartilage scaffold construction. Both the autologous costal
regard to jurisdictional claims in cartilage tissues and artificial materials are the currently available materials for cartilage
published maps and institutional
affiliations. scaffold construction. While artificial material scaffolds are prone to extrusion issues,

Volume 10 Issue 5 (2024) 383 doi: 10.36922/ijb.3396