A novel fabrication and characterization of PEGylated hydroxyapatite-zirconia oxide nanoparticles for biomedical application

Abstract

Calcium phosphate-based nanomaterials (NMs) have garnered substantial attention for their potential applications in addressing bone-related diseases. However, the production of nanomaterials with optimal bioactivity and minimal toxicity remains a challenging endeavor. Hence, the current study focused on the synthesis and characterization of PEGylated hydroxyapatite-zirconia oxide nanoparticles (PHAP-ZrO2 NPs) and assessed their cytotoxicity on both HEK-293 cells and red blood cells, with a specific emphasis on their suitability for applications in bone tissue engineering. PHAP-ZrO2 NPs were synthesized employing both the sol-gel and grinding methods, enabling a comparative assessment of their physicochemical properties. Furthermore, the properties of the synthesized PHAP-ZrO2 NPs were thoroughly examined utilizing techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic analysis, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. Notably, TEM analysis revealed the distinctive oval shape of the PEG-HAP-ZrO2 NPs. The zeta size and zeta potential of PHAP-ZrO2 NPs were 122.8 ± 0.16 nm and − 25.7 ± 6.6 mV, respectively. The in-vitro cytotoxicity analysis confirmed that the PHAP-ZrO2 NPs (1 mg/mL) have 71.5 ± 5.3% of cell viability with minimal toxicity. Similarly, PHAP-ZrO2 NPs did not cause substantial toxicity (5.76 ± 0.057%) to red blood cells (RBCs) compared to PBS (2.27 ± 0.119%). Overall, the high throughput characterization and cytotoxicity results of this study demonstrate that the synthesized PHAP-ZrO2 NPs could be developed as potential drug delivery carriers for therapeutic applications.