Production of bioactive glass/chitosan scaffolds by freeze-gelation for optimized vancomycin delivery: Effectiveness of glass presence on controlling the drug release kinetics

Abstract

The major objective of this work was the creation of vancomycin loaded composite scaffolds designed for bone treatment from inexpensive and biocompatible materials such as chitosan. Bioactive glass was chosen as filler due to its outstanding bioactivity and ability for bone regeneration. The scaffolds were prepared using the freeze-gelation method, which was efficient and cost-effective. They included different glass contents (0, 25, and 50 wt %) and symbolized as C, C25, and C50, respectively. The SEM/EDXA, TGA and the FTIR were used to characterize the scaffolds. The degradation properties of the scaffolds were controlled through modifying their glass contents. Furthermore, the kinetics of the released drug was improved as the glass content increased. The final cumulative percentages of released drug from scaffolds C, C25, and C50 reached 52.49, 70.82 and 98.22%, respectively. The Higuchi model proved that the drug was released through a diffusion-controlled mechanism. For neat polymer scaffold, the drug was released in two following stages. In contrast, for composite scaffolds, the release pattern was modulated and differentiated into four stages. That modulation was attributed to glass presence and deposition of apatite layer on their surfaces. Additionally, cell viability was enhanced by the presence of glass. In brief, glass presence was highly effective in controlling degradation properties and improving the drug release kinetics of the scaffolds. Therefore, the scaffolds made of chitosan and bioactive glass could be a good candidate for localized bone treatment.