As a soluble cellulose derivative, methylcellulose (MC), can be used to construct thermosensitive hydrogels. However, a pure MC gel is generally considered an inert material that is inadequate for cell survival. We adopted an environmentally friendly method to fabricate a nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) hybrid MC hydrogel. Rheology results showed that the addition of nHA increased the gelation temperature. Furthermore, the live/dead assay confirmed that the addition of nHA improved the survival of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) inside the gel. In addition, ARS staining indicated that the presence of nHA stimulated osteogenic differentiation. Finally, in vivo cranial defect experiments showed improved remediation efficiency when using the nHA hybrid MC hydrogel to carry BMSCs.

作为可溶性纤维素衍生物，甲基纤维素（MC）可用于构建热敏水凝胶。但是，纯MC凝胶通常被认为是不足以维持细胞存活的惰性材料。我们采用了一种环保的方法来制造纳米羟基磷灰石（nHA）杂化MC水凝胶。流变学结果表明，nHA的添加提高了胶凝温度。此外，活/死测定法证实添加nHA可以改善凝胶内骨髓来源的间充质干细胞（BMSC）的存活率。此外，ARS染色表明nHA的存在刺激了成骨分化。最后，体内颅骨缺损实验显示，使用nHA杂交MC水凝胶携带BMSC时，修复效率得到了提高。