Hydroxyapatite Reinforced Polyvinyl Alcohol/Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone Based Hydrogel for Cartilage Replacement

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone (PVP) hydrogels are desirable biomaterials for soft tissue repair and replacement. However, the bio-inertness and poor cell adhesive potency of the PVA and PVP hinder the wide range of biomedical applications. In the present work, PVA and PVP were blended with a one-dimensional hydroxyapatite nanorod (HNr), and PVA/PVP/HNr composite hydrogel was synthesized by the freeze-thaw process. The developed hydrogels were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The bio-ceramic nanohydroxyapatite content was optimized, and it was found that reinforcement improves mechanical strength as well as bioactivity. The compression strength values are 2.47 ± 0.73 MPa for the composite having 2 wt% of nanohydroxyapatite. The storage modulus was much higher than the loss modulus, which signifies the elastic dominancy similar to cartilage. Besides, the antimicrobial activity of nanohydroxyapatite reinforced PVA hydrogel towards bacterial species, Escherichia coli (E. Coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was satisfactory, and the in vitro biocompatibility response towards Human Mesenchymal stem cells(hMSC) after 72 h of culture confirms nanohydroxyapatite reinforced PVA/PVP hydrogels are the promising alternatives for next-generation cartilage substitutes.