Harnessing potential of avian eggshell membrane derived collagen hydrolysate for bone tissue regeneration

Natural bone grafts are the highly preferred materials for restoring the lost bone, while being constrained of donor availability and risk of disease transmission. As a result, tissue engineering is emerging as an efficacious and competitive technique for bone repair. Bone tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds to support bone regeneration and devoid of aforesaid limitations are being vastly explored and among these the avian eggshell membrane has drawn attention for TE owing to its low immunogenicity, similarity with the extracellular matrix, and easy availability.

In this study, the development of bone ingrowth support system from avian eggshell membrane derived collagen hydrolysates (Col-h) is reported. The hydrolysate, cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, was developed into hydrogels with poly-(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by freeze-thawing and further characterized with ATR-FTIR, XRD, FESEM. The biodegradability, swelling, mechanical, anti-microbial, and biocompatibility evaluation were performed further for the suitability in bone regeneration. The presence of amide I, amide III, and -OH functional groups at 1639 cm^- 1,1264 cm^- 1, and 3308 cm^- 1 respectively and broad peak between 16°-21° (2θ) in XRD data reinstated the composition and form.

The maximum ratio of Col-h/PVA that produced well defined hydrogels was 50:50. Though all the hydrogel matrices alluded towards their competitive attributes and applicability towards restorative bone repair, the hydrogel with 40:60 ratios showed better mechanical strength and cell proliferation than its counterparts. The prominent E. coli growth inhibition by the hydrogel matrices was also observed, along with excellent biocompatibility with MG-63 osteoblasts. The findings indicate strongly the promising application of avian eggshell-derived Col-h in supporting bone regeneration.