DEVELOPMENT OF BIPHASIC CALCIUM PHOSPHATE SCAFFOLD DECORATED WITH HYALURONIC ACID-CHITOSAN MICROSPHERES HYDROGEL FOR BONE REGENERATION

Abstract

Bone tissue engineering aims to induce new functional bone regeneration via the synergistic combination triad of biomaterials, cells and regulatory signals. A novel bone replacement was fabricated to enhance bone Regeneration by combining bioceramics, polymer materials and hydrogel. In this study, hydrogel containing Hyaluronic acid (HyA)-Chitosan (Ch) microspheres were loaded onto biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffold to achieve high bioresorption rate. Fabricated scaffold was then evaluated for development of porous and microporous environment, proliferation and cell cytotoxicity. Resulting scaffold showed high interconnected porosity with high compressive strength of 2.67 ± 0.5 MPa. In vitro bioactivity was seen very well by immersing the scaffolds in simulated body fluid. In vitro cytocompatibility studies were conducted using Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. BCP scaffolds loaded with HyA-Ch nanoparticles hydrogel resulted in a significant increase in cell proliferation on day 4 (p<0.05) and day 7 (p<0.001) and high alkaline phosphatase activities at Day 14 and 21. A bone matrix formation was confirmed by positive immunostaining results for osteopontin, osteocalcin and F-Actin. In vitro expression of extracellular matrix proteins demonstrated that this novel bone substitute holds great promise for use in stimulating new bone regeneration.