Over the last decades, hydroxyapatite (HA) and its composite with biopolymer have been extensively developed and applied in biomedical application. The aim of this study is to produce a novel 3D porous HA scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration. Scaffolds with varying composition of HA, chitosan, gelatin, agarose and poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) were prepared using freeze drying method. The composite scaffold was analyzed to determine density, porosity, biodegradability, swelling kinetics, morphology and structural properties. Porosity and density of the prepared scaffolds were 85.17 to 92.21% and 0.317 to 0.495g/cm3, respectively. The swelling ability of the prepared scaffolds showed similar efficacy. FTIR analysis showed intermolecular interaction between components in the scaffold. Pore size of the developed scaffolds were measured by scanning electron microscopy and found that regardless of their composition showed adequate pore sizes ranging from 174 to 405µm. Brine shrimp lethality assay indicated that the obtained scaffolds had no cytotoxic effects, and that they had good biocompatibility. The results suggested that, these homogeneous composite scaffolds were found to be potential candidates as bone grafting materials for bone tissue engineering applications. On the other hand, polyvinyl alcohol, PVA, is a water soluble synthetic resin which is obtained through polymerization of vinyl acetate monomer. By hydrolysis, the acetate groups are converted in hydroxyl groups. The degree of hydrolysis in a polyvinyl alcohol reagent is controlled by this process. The polar nature of poly (vinyl alcohol) facilitates the formation of hydrogen bonds and eventual condensation with silanol groups (from developing polysilicate network) formed by hydrolysis of the silicon alkoxides.
Keywords17 Moreover PVA has been proposed for controlled release systems and is employed in a variety of biomedical applications, generally being considered to be biocompatible. 18,19 A polymer or combination of polymers can be fabricated into a porous scaffold through various techniques, such as sintering, salt leaching, freeze-drying, solvent casting, gas foaming, fibre meshes, phase separation, melt moulding, emulsion free drying, solution casting, etc. Sintering uses high temperatures to bond substances together as well as burn out organic material to form a porous structure.20 Salt leaching is also feasible, but is limited by the prolonged contact of particles with water and the requirement for salt removal.21 This study has chosen freeze-drying because it can form highly a porous structure and offer stability and ease of handling. 22,23 This study focuses on preparing and characterizing composite scaffold synthesized from three natural-based materials-chitosan, gelatin and HA. Afterwards in combination with agarose/PVA, these three materials offer potential synergies between physical properties and bioactivity for use as bone substitutes in bone grafts, benefiting a range of surgical applications. So a well-designed three-dimensional ...