Flow Behavior and Drug Release Study of Injectable Pluronic F-127 Hydrogels containing Bioactive Glass and Carbon-Based Nanopowders

Injectable biomaterials have gained significant attention in recent years since they can be delivered to the defect sites through minimally-invasive approaches. In this work, thermo-responsive injectable hydrogels containing borate-based bioactive glass particles and carbon-based nanopowders were designed for bone tissue engineering applications. For this purpose, mixtures of Pluronic F127 block-copolymer and 13-93B3 bioactive glass particles with different sizes (2.3 mu m, 14 mu m, 150 mu m) were prepared in aqueous medium and their in situ gelation were investigated through rheological measurements as a function of temperature. Effects of graphene nanopowders and multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the flow behavior of the designed hydrogel system were also investigated. Results revealed that viscosity of the prepared hydrogel system was strongly dependent on the temperature and the bioactive glass particle size. Inclusion of graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes in this system caused a further increase in viscosity. All of the hydrogel compositions designed in the study showed shear thinning flow behavior which is a crucial parameter for injectability. Drug release studies showed that the addition of bioactive glass and carbon-based nanoparticles improved the drug release behavior of the prepared hydrogels.