The effects of bioactive akermanite on physiochemical, drug-delivery, and biological properties of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) beads

Poly(lactide‐co‐glycolide) (PLGA) beads have been widely studied as a potential drug/protein carrier. The main shortcomings of PLGA beads are that they lack bioactivity and controllable drug‐delivery ability, and their acidic degradation by‐products can lead to pH decrease in the vicinity of the implants. Akermanite (AK) (Ca2MgSi2O7) is a novel bioactive ceramic which has shown excellent bioactivity and degradation in vivo. This study aimed to incorporate AK to PLGA beads to improve the physiochemical, drug‐delivery, and biological properties of PLGA beads. The microstructure of beads was characterized by SEM. The effect of AK incorporating into PLGA beads on the mechanical strength, apatite‐formation ability, the loading and release of BSA, and the proliferation, and differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) was investigated. The results showed that the incorporation of AK into PLGA beads altered the anisotropic microporous structure into homogenous one and improved their compressive strength and apatite‐formation ability in simulated body fluids (SBF). AK neutralized the acidic products from PLGA beads, leading to stable pH value of 7.4 in biological environment. AK led to a sustainable and controllable release of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in PLGA beads. The incorporation of AK into PLGA beads enhanced the proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of BMSCs. This study implies that the incorporation of AK into PLGA beads is a promising method to enhance their physiochemical and biological property. AK/PLGA composite beads are a potential bioactive drug‐delivery system for bone tissue repair. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2011.