Prof. Cai received her Ph.D in polymer physics and chemistry in 2003 from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is working as a full professor in the College of Materials Science and Engineering at Beijing University of Chemical Technology. Currently, she is the technical reviewer of NMPA for medical devices, the member of the Academic Committee of the NMPA Key Laboratory of Dental Materials, the editor board members of the journals Bioactive Materials and Biomedical Materials. Prof. Cai works mainly in biodegradable polymers, bioceramic, tissue regeneration and drug release. She has taken charge of or taken part in more than 20 scientific projects of national/other grade, published more than 130 SCI-cited papers as the first or corresponding author, and received 5 awards of ministry grade. She is also working on the scaled-up R&D of dental restoration materials for clinical applications.

Topic title: Designing and preparation of Mg2+-containing biomaterials for enhanced bone and cartilage regeneration

Abstract:

In recent years, the use of bioactive ions (e.g. Mg2+, Sr2+, etc.) in the field of regenerative medicine has been paid much attention, because they display multiple functions in regulating cell migration, proliferation, angiogenesis and osteogenesis, as well as, provide potentials for antibacteria and immunomodulation. Among them, Mg2+ is rich in our body, showing excellent biocompatibility at relatively high concentration, at the meantime, possessing the capacity to regulate biological responses in relation to cellular events involved in bone and cartilage regeneration. It has been proven that Mg2+ can be doped into the lattice of bone minerals to promote ossification. It has also been proven that Mg2+ can inhibit inflammation and up-regulate the expression of hypoxic-inducing factor (HIF) to facilitate cartilage repair. In view of these features of Mg2+, our group have designed various biodegradable scaffolds containing Mg2+ to achieve its sustained release, and the scaffolds can be made into different forms, such as bioceramic, polymeric fiber, hydrogel/cryogel, and injectable microspheres. Cell culture is conducted mainly by seeding BMSCs on them, and rat calvarial defect is created as the main model to evaluate the efficiency of these scaffolds in boosting bone regeneration. For cartilage regeneration, the osteochondral defect created in rabbit knee joint is applied for in vivo evaluations by using gradiently built heterogeneous bi- or tri-phase scaffolds. In summary, our results reveal and confirm the potential and advantage of using Mg2+-containing biomaterials for enhanced bone and cartilage regeneration if the scaffolds are properly constructed.