ZIF-8 modified polypropylene membrane: a biomimetic cell culture platform with a view to the improvement of guided bone regeneration

Purpose: Despite the significant advances in modeling of biomechanical aspects of cell microenvironment, it remains a major challenge to precisely mimic the physiological condi-tion of the particular cell niche. Here, the metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been introduced as a feasible platform for multifactorial control of cell-substrate interaction, given the wide range of physical and mechanical properties of MOF materials and their structural flexibility.

Results: In situ crystallization of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) on the poly-dopamine (PDA)-modified membrane significantly raised surface energy, wettability, rough-ness, and stiffness of the substrate. This modulation led to an almost twofold increment in the primary attachment of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) compare to conventional plastic culture dishes. The findings indicate that polypropylene (PP) membrane modified by PDA/ ZIF-8 coating effectively supports the growth and proliferation of DPSCs at a substantial rate. Further analysis also displayed the exaggerated multilineage differentiation of DPSCs with amplified level of autocrine cell fate determination signals, like BSP1, BMP2, PPARG, FABP4, ACAN, and COL2A. Notably, osteogenic markers were dramatically overexpressed (more than 100-folds rather than tissue culture plate) in response to biomechanical characteristics of the ZIF-8 layer.

Conclusion: Hence, surface modification of cell culture platforms with MOF nanostructures proposed as a powerful nanomedical approach for selectively guiding stem cells for tissue regeneration. In particular, PP/PDA/ZIF-8 membrane presented ideal characteristics for using as a barrier membrane for guided bone regeneration (GBR) in periodontal tissue engineering.