What is it about?
Polylactic Acid (PLA) is a biocompatible polymer for 3D printing of tissue scaffolds, but dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), a non-controversial source of stem cells for tissue engineering, do not proliferate well on PLA. Our research found a way to enhance PLA so that DPSCs not only grow well on it but also became cells that produce the calcium deposits indicative of bone growth.
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Why is it important?
Ten percent of bone fractures do not heal and therefore require surgical grafts. Grafts from other donors can lead to tissue rejection, while grafts taken from the patient lead to longer recovery times due to multiple surgical sites. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), found within the dental pulp of baby teeth or third molars, can differentiate into bone cells given the right scaffold and conditions, and could provide autologous bone replacement.
Perspectives
This research was done in conjunction with three high school juniors at the Garcia Summer Scholars Program at Stony Brook University.
Rebecca P Isseroff
Stony Brook University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Creating a Novel Graphene Oxide/Iron/Polylactic Acid Composite that Promotes Dental Pulp Stem Cell Proliferation and Mineralization, MRS Advances, April 2018, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1557/adv.2018.364.
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