Characterization of porous scaffold from chitosan-gelatin/hydroxyapatite for bone grafting

Abstract

Bone tissue engineering is a new treatment technique for bone grafting. This procedure can regenerate damaged bone by implanting scaffolding to provide mechanical support in gap areas. The scaffold acts as a temporary matrix for cell proliferation until new bone tissue is completely regenerated. This research developed bone scaffold using freeze-drying method. A mixture design technique was used to investigate the effect of chitosan, gelatin, and hydroxyapatite on the scaffold properties. The results showed that the degradability and porosity of the scaffold increased with decreasing chitosan-gelatin and hydroxyapatite concentrations, while swelling increased with increasing chitosan-gelatin but decreasing hydroxyapatite concentrations. An optimal condition was obtained from the scaffold with a chitosan-gelatin: hydroxyapatite:1% acetic acid ratio of 2.62:2.17:95.21. The SEM image also showed the scaffold fabricated from this ratio has an open pore structure, which could benefit bone regeneration.