2. Academic Validation
  3. Injectable, regenerative and anti-infective PEGylated polyglycerol sebacate-modified calcium phosphate cements triggered by berberine and rhBMP-2 for oral bone defect repair

Injectable, regenerative and anti-infective PEGylated polyglycerol sebacate-modified calcium phosphate cements triggered by berberine and rhBMP-2 for oral bone defect repair

  • Dent Mater. 2026 May;42(5):898-911. doi: 10.1016/j.dental.2026.01.012.
Hongjuan Cao 1,  Dalai Hasi 2,  Xiaozhou Liu 3,  Zihan Wu 4,  Alex Fok 5,  Yuan Yuan 6,  Lin Wu 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Stomatology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
  • 2 Department of Stomatology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China; Department of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Chifeng University, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China.
  • 3 Department of Prosthodontics, School of Stomatology, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
  • 4 Shanghai Rebone Biomaterials Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
  • 5 Minnesota Dental Research Center for Biomaterials and Biomechanics, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
  • 6 Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China; Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Materials of Ministry of Education East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China; Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Materials of Ministry of Education, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 7 Department of Stomatology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41633879 DOI: 10.1016/j.dental.2026.01.012
Abstract

Adequate bone healing around the implant is critical to its clinical success. For decades, biomimetic composites with integrated osteogenic and anti-infective capacities have been a cornerstone of translational research targeting oral bone defect repair. Herein, we report the engineering of a novel composite: functional molecule-loaded, PEGylated polyglycerol sebacate (PEGS)-modified calcium phosphate cement (PCPC) composite. Specifically, calcium phosphate cement (CPC) was functionalized with PEGS, a hydrophilic elastomer, followed by the co-immobilization of berberine (BBR), a clinically approved anti-inflammatory agent, and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), a potent osteogenic cytokine, to fabricate the PCPC composite.The optimized PCPC formulation-incorporating 250 μg of BBR and 2 μg of rhBMP-2 per gram of composite-exhibited superior cytocompatibility, robust mechanical performance, and desirable biodegradability. Notably, in vitro assays demonstrated that BBR incorporation exerted a synergistic effect with rhBMP-2, enhancing the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 and inducing the polarization of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages. In vivo evaluations further verified that BBR/rhBMP-2-loaded PCPC composites significantly accelerated mandibular bone regeneration and mitigated local inflammatory responses relative to unloaded PCPC controls. Collectively, this injectable, immunomodulatory, and osteoinductive PCPC composite emerges as a promising therapeutic platform for oral bone defect repair, providing novel insights into the rational design of next-generation dual-functional biomaterials.

Keywords

Anti-inflammatory; BBR; Bone regeneration; PCPC; RhBMP-2.

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