Strontium doped 58S bioglass incorporated chitosan/gelatin porous scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications

Bioglass (Bg) is accepted as a revolutionary material, and doping with strontium (Sr) ions in the Bg network exhibits improved biofunctionality towards bone tissue regeneration and inhibits osteoclast formation. Keeping this in view, the present study focused on the development of chitosan (CS)/gelatin (GE) porous scaffolds incorporated with Sr-doped Bg nanoparticles (nSrBg) for bone tissue engineering applications. The SEM analysis of the fabricated scaffold exhibited that it possessed a homogenous microstructure with an interconnected porous network having pore sizes of 100-300 μm. A swelling of <6-fold and a degradation rate under 50 % were achieved. The compression test revealed that nSrBg improved the strength of the composite to 1.15 MPa. In vitro bioactivity assays suggested the presence of nSrBg enhanced the bone-like deposition of the apatite layer, which possessed cell-supportive properties, allowing the cells to attach and proliferate over the scaffold surface. MTT assay and live-dead staining revealed that the nSrBg enhanced the proliferation of the cells up to 0.48 OD. The ALP assay suggested that the nSrBg addition improved the osteogenic potential until 0.70 OD. Overall, the fabricated scaffold showed superior mechanical and biological properties that can be a promising platform for bone tissue regeneration.