Development of chitosan/gelatin hydrogels incorporation of biphasic calcium phosphate nanoparticles for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

The chitosan/gelatin hydrogel incorporated with biphasic calcium phosphate nanoparticles (BCP-NPs) as scaffold (CGB) for bone tissue engineering was reported in this article. Such nanocomposite hydrogels were fabricated by using cycled freeze-thawing method, of which physicochemical and biological properties were regulated by adjusting the weight ratio of chitosan/gelatin/BCP-NPs. The needle-like BCP-NPs were dispersed into composites uniformly, and physically cross-linked with chitosan and gelatin, which were identified via Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The porosity, equilibrium swelling ratio, and compressive strength of CGB scaffolds were mainly influenced by the BCP-NPs concentration. In vitro degradation analysis in simulated body fluids (SBF) displayed that CGB scaffolds were degraded up to at least 30 wt% in one month. Also, CCK-8 analysis confirmed that the prepared scaffolds had a good cytocompatibility through in culturing with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Finally, In vivo animal experiments revealed that new bone tissue was observed inside the scaffolds, and gradually increased with increasing months, when implanted CGB scaffolds into large necrotic lesions of rabbit femoral head. The above results suggested that prepared CGB nanocomposites had the potential to be applied in bone tissue engineering.