Mineralized nanocomposite scaffolds based on soy protein grafted oxidized cellulose for biomedical applications

Abstract

TEMPO oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TEMPO-CNF) were prepared from cellulose pulp, extracted from bagasse, cultivated in Egypt. TEMPO-CNF was grafted with soy protein hydrolysate (SPH) via the amidation reaction between the carboxylic groups of TEMPO-CNF with the amino groups of SPH for preparing new bioactive material. Then, TEMPO-CNF-graft-SPH was soaked in simulated body fluid (SBF) to initiate the calcium phosphate mineralization. We demonstrated that TEMPO-CNF-graft-SPH with a structure similar to the humane protein, integrated into electrospun fibres made of polycaprolactone, can promote the formation of an in-vitro microenvironment by combining mineral phases similar to the hydroxyapatite of bone and protein signals assembled by nanofibrillar structures as the collagen into natural extracellular matrix of tissues. After determination of the physical and chemical properties, scaffolds were in-vitro tested with human Mesenchymal Stem Cells to validate the biocompatibility in terms of adhesion and proliferation. All these preliminary results validated the use of bioactive platforms by integrating modified TEMPO-CNF into electrospun fibres network, for the fabrication of new platforms for the repair and/or the regeneration of hard tissues such as bone.