Scaffolds containing chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose/mesoporous wollastonite for bone tissue engineering

Scaffold based bone tissue engineering utilizes a variety of biopolymers in different combinations aiming to deliver optimal properties required for bone regeneration. In the current study, we fabricated bio-composite scaffolds containing chitosan (CS), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) with varied concentrations of mesoporous wollastonite (m-WS) particles by the freeze drying method. The CS/CMC/m-WS scaffolds were characterized by the SEM, EDS and FT-IR studies. Addition of m-WS particles had no effect on altering the porosity of the scaffolds. m-WS particles at 0.5% concentration in the CS/CMC scaffolds showed significant improvement in the bio-mineralization and protein adsorption properties. Addition of m-WS particles in the CS/CMC scaffolds significantly reduced their swelling and degradation properties. The CS/CMC/m-WS scaffolds also showed cyto-friendly nature to human osteoblastic cells. The osteogenic potential of CS/CMC/m-WS scaffolds was confirmed by calcium deposition and expression of an osteoblast specific microRNA, pre-mir-15b. Thus, the current investigations support the use of CS/CMC/m-WS scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.