Bone-like apatite formation in phosphate-crosslinked sodium alginate-based hydrogels

Abstract

• Posphate-crosslinked sodium alginate-based hydrogels was developed. • The hydrogels show interconnected porous networks. • The hydrogels show excellent bone-like apatite formation ability. Bioactive materials exhibiting bone-like apatite formation are crucial for inducing the osteogenic potentials of bone cells in the bone tissue engineering field. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of bioactive phosphate-crosslinked sodium alginate-based (PSA) hydrogels for biomineralization using a calcium-free approach. The hydrogels produced contained interconnected porous networks and exhibited improved swelling and biodegradable properties with excellent bone-like apatite formation abilities under simulated body fluid (SBF) conditions, which were attributed to the presence of phosphate groups. The devised functional phosphate-crosslinked sodium alginate hydrogels provided potential scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.