Preparation and Characterization of HAp Coated Chitosan‐Alginate PEC Porous Scaffold for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Recently, various scaffolds for bone tissue engineering have been developed and analyzed using polymers and bioactive ceramics. The development of an interconnected bioceramic‐biopolymer scaffold combines the advantage of both the components to meet mechanical and physiological requirements of the host tissue. In the present study, development of 3D porous hybrid scaffold using chitosan‐alginate polyelectrolyte complex (CAPEC) by freeze drying method, has been reported. The CaCl2 cross‐linked CAPEC scaffold was further coated with synthesized HAp (Hydroxyapatite) by dip coating technique. The HAp was synthesized by wet chemical precipitation method. The CAPEC and HAp coated‐CAPEC (CAPEC/HAp) scaffolds were assessed for their porosity, pore size, morphology, mechanical strength, swelling behavior, in‐vitro biodegradation. The pore size and morphology of developed scaffolds were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The pore size ranged from 30 to 280µm for CAPEC scaffolds and no apparent change in pore size was found in case of CAPEC/HAp. Both the scaffolds possessed desired pore size with interconnected pore network. Whereas, the porosity was decreased with the increase in HAp coating, but it is still high enough for bone tissue engineering application. The mechanical strength of CAPEC scaffold increased with the coating of HAp, compressive strength was increased from 0.469 MPa to 0.61 MPa. The CAPEC/HAp scaffolds also exhibited favorable swelling behavior and biodegradation. Further, the developed scaffolds also supported in vitro attachment and proliferation of MG63 osteosarcoma cells. Overall, the study has demonstrated that the developed CAPEC/HAp scaffolds have potential application in non‐load bearing, cancellous bone tissue engineering applications.