Effect of a Simvastatin-Impregnated Chitosan Scaffold on Cell Growth and Osteoblastic Differentiation

This study aims to evaluate the effect of chitosan (CS) scaffold, alone, and the potential synergistic effect when impregnated with simvastatin (SIM), on immortalized human bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hbMMSCs) compared to CollaCote (CL). CS scaffolds were fabricated and seeded with immortalized hBMMSCs. Samples were divided into control groups (negative with no added material and positive with CL added) and four experimental groups: CS alone, CS/SIM 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 mg, respectively. Cell viability, osteoblastic differentiation and calcium deposition were investigated via AlamarBlue, alkaline phosphate activity assays and alizarin red S staining at 1 and 14 days, respectively. At day one, no significant difference was noted between the groups regarding cell viability. However, all CS/SIM groups showed significant cutback at day 14 in cell proliferation compared to CS alone and CL groups (p < 0.001). All groups supported osteoblastic differentiation with no significant difference. Alkaline phosphate activity increased in both time periods in the CS/SIM 0.05 mg group compared to the other SIM groups, with no significant difference among the experimental groups. Chitosan scaffold is a bioactive compatible material capable of regenerative potential of hBMMSCs and a promising material to be used for perforation repair.