Abstract:
In recent years, there is a drastic increase in the demand of biomaterials for bone defects which
results in newer research on the development of smart biomaterials with enhanced osteogenesis. The
controlled and rapid healing of bone repair process is seemingly a matter of interest for biomaterials
research. Notably, hydroxyapatite (HAp) and its polymer/metal oxide composites play a significant role in
the field of biomaterials research for orthopedics treatment procedures. In this study, hybrid composite
scaffolds derived from cuttlefish bone (CFB) for hard tissue engineering has been successfully
demonstrated under hydrothermal process. The final cuttlefish bone scaffold product was completely
transformed into biomimetic hydroxyapatite crystal structure under optimized hydrothermal condition
without any change in the natural channelled structural arrangements. The X-ray diffraction pattern reveals
the characteristic hydroxyapatite formation without the presence of any other calcium
phosphate/carbonate derivatives. Further, to enhance its biological response, the developed scaffolds
were coated with the polymeric mixture of sodium alginate and alumina/zirconia nanoparticles. The
elemental analysis of the prepared scaffolds confirms the presence of respective elements such as Ca, P, O
and Al/Zr. The in vitro biocompatibility study on these composite scaffolds shows excellent biocompatibility
against MG63 osteoblasts like cells and cell attachment/proliferation. Therefore, the porous and
channelled arrangement of cuttlefish bone derived hydroxyapatite-(alumina/zirconia)-sodium alginate
based hybrid composite scaffolds should enhance cell attachment, bone tissue ingrowth that results in
rapid healing of bone tissue damage.
