(Hydroxypropyl)methylcellulose mediated synthesis of highly porous composite scaffolds for trabecular bone repair applications

Khan, A.F. and Afzal, A. and Chaudhary, A.A. and Saleem, M. and Shahzadi, L. and Jamal, A. and Yar, M. and Habib, A. and Rehman, I.U. (2015) (Hydroxypropyl)methylcellulose mediated synthesis of highly porous composite scaffolds for trabecular bone repair applications. Science of Advanced Materials, 7 (6). pp. 1177-1186. ISSN 1947-2935

Abstract

This article presents an (hydroxypropyl)methylcellulose (HPMC) mediated synthesis of highly porous scaffolds containing nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (n-HAp) and chitosan (CS) as major inorganic and organic phases, respectively. A mixture of n-HAp, CS, and HPMC is homogenized and freeze-dried to yield n-HAp/CS/HPMC composite scaffolds closely emulating trabecular bone in density (0.02 g cm-3) and porosity (89%). SEM images substantiate the porous structure of the scaffolds (pore size: 100-300 μm). The mechanical analysis reveal excellent compressive strength of the porous n-HAp/CS/HPMC scaffold (9.65 MPa) that is also comparable with human trabecular bone. The in vitro bioactivity and degradability of the porous scaffolds are investigated in tris-HCl-buffered synthetic body fluid (SBF) and phosphate buffer solution (PBS), respectively. The results indicate a rapid increase in scaffold mass due to apatite-like deposition and good resorbability. The SEM images of SBF soaked samples demonstrate apatite-like deposition on the surface of scaffolds with Ca/P ratio of 1.63 after 7 days of soaking in SBF. These results suggest that porous n-HAp/CS/HPMC scaffolds, due to their structural similarity, mechanical and in vitro biological properties, can become useful alternatives for trabecular bone regeneration and repair. © 2015 by American Scientific Publishers.