Dendrimer templated bioactive glass-ceramic nanovehicle for gene delivery applications

In the present investigation, multifunctional nanocrystalline microporous 45S5 bioglass particles were synthesized using poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer generation 3 as a template. Apart from bone regeneration ability, special focus has been placed on its application as a nanocarrier in gene delivery. Considering bio-inspired nanoscale microporous 45S5 bioglass (BG) as a bone regenerative material, evaluating the biocompatibility and mechanical properties are essential parameters. Initially, the characterization of BG was carried out through morphology, composition and textural studies. Interestingly, a polygonal shape was observed by TEM and microporosity was further confirmed by BET analysis. The mechanical properties of the obtained glass-ceramic were evaluated using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) which revealed its stiffness and good damping property. The nanocrystalline BG was observed to be osteoproductive through the hydroxycarbonated apatite (HCA) formation in simulated body fluid (SBF). The biocompatibility of the material was confirmed by MTT assay and furthermore, the U2OS osteosarcoma cell proliferation on the surface of the BG was visualized by FESEM. The material was found to be highly cell proliferative. In addition to this, in vitro studies were carried out to evaluate the therapeutic pDNA compaction ability of the bioglass material. Furthermore, the transfection ability of the material was also investigated against the CHO-K1 cell line. This investigation provides a new insight into the application of bioactive glass as an efficient non-viral nanocarrier for gene therapy.