Chitosan-Based Biomimetically Mineralized Composite Materials in Human Hard Tissue Repair

Abstract

Chitosan is a natural, biodegradable cationic polysaccharide, which has a similar chemical structure and similar biological behaviors to the components of the extracellular matrix in the biomineralization process of teeth or bone. Its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, and polyelectrolyte action make it a suitable organic template, which, combined with biomimetic mineralization technology, can be used to develop organic-inorganic composite materials for hard tissue repair. In recent years, various chitosan-based biomimetic organic-inorganic composite materials have been applied in the field of bone tissue engineering and enamel or dentin biomimetic repair in different forms (hydrogels, fibers, porous scaffolds, microspheres, etc.), and the inorganic components of the composites are usually biogenic minerals, such as hydroxyapatite, other calcium phosphate phases, or silica. These composites have good mechanical properties, biocompatibility, bioactivity, osteogenic potential, and other biological properties and are thus considered as promising novel materials for repairing the defects of hard tissue. This review is mainly focused on the properties and preparations of biomimetically mineralized composite materials using chitosan as an organic template, and the current application of various chitosan-based biomimetically mineralized composite materials in bone tissue engineering and dental hard tissue repair is summarized.

Chitosan-Calcium-Simvastatin Scaffold as an Inductive Cell-Free Platform

“…Chitosan has been considered a versatile polymer for tissue engineering applications due to its biocompatibility, controllable biodegradability, and the capability of being processed into different architectures (Hu et al 2020; Tang et al 2020). Amino (-NH 2 ) and hydroxyl groups (-OH) are effective centers for complexing with metal ions and are directly involved in the metal-chitosan coordination process (Hu et al 2020).…”

“…Chitosan has attracted attention for dentin tissue regeneration due to glycosaminoglycan-like polymeric chains, which favor pulp cells interaction, along with proved biocompatibility, biodegradability into nontoxic components, protein affinity, and hemostatic and antimicrobial potential (Hu et al 2020; Tang et al 2020). Previous in vivo studies have already demonstrated that chitosan scaffolds might be useful for in situ tissue engineering of dentin due to adequate absence of cell/tissue toxicity, promoting cell mobilization and interaction, ultimately with odontoblastic differentiation and mineralized tissue deposition in absence of inflammatory reaction on surrounding pulp tissue (Li et al 2014; Machado et al 2020).…”

Chitosan Based Biocomposites for Hard Tissue Engineering

“…Researchers have tried and are still trying to overwhelm the shortfalls. The most hopeful ones are those that combine chitosan-based formulations and synthetic inorganic biomaterial similar to the calcified phase of natural bone [42].…”

Antimicrobial Effect and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Mg-Doped Hydroxyapatite Functionalized with Au-Nano Rods

“…HA is one of the most used biomaterials for bone regeneration because its inorganic component is similar to natural apatite, the mineral that constitutes bone matrix and provides rigidity to bone [ 3 , 4 ]. It is biocompatible, minimally inflammatory, osteoconductive, osteoinductive, and biodegradable [ 5 , 6 ]. Moreover, HA can be prepared both by synthetic and natural sources via easy fabrication strategies, which makes it an attractive grafting material [ 7 ].…”