Assessing the potential of boronic acid/chitosan/bioglass composite materials for tissue engineering applications

Composite materials aimed at bone tissue engineering need to have suitable bioactivity in order to promote cell proliferation and adhesion. In this article, we study the potential of boronic acids to improve the bioactivity of chitosan-based composite materials. Samples were prepared using boronic acid functionalised chitosan and Bioglass 45S5. These composite materials, prepared by freeze-drying, exhibit 3D interconnected porosity. The materials were fully characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR and x-ray diffraction. Their bioactivity was assessed by immersion in simulated body fluid and cell cytotoxicity assays. Composite materials containing boronic acid show no toxicity for Mouse Sertoli (TM4), Human embryonic kidney 293 (Hek293) and Human bone marrow/stroma (HS-5) cells, as opposed to composites containing non-functionalised chitosan.