Comparison of Morphology and Cytotoxicity of Cellulose Composites with Nano- and Microhydroxyapatite for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration must be precisely designed as they support cell attachment, proliferation, differentiation and blood vessel in-growth. Moreover, the materials which are implanted in human body must be non-cytotoxic, absolutely harmless. In this work cellulose scaffolds with nanohydroxyapatite and microhydroxyapatite were prepared. The results obtained in this work revealed that the morphology of the scaffolds depended on the size of hydroxyapatite particles. The porosity of the scaffolds varied from 66 to 72%. The pores were interconnected with the average diameter 0.49 and 0.54 mm for scaffolds with nano- and microhydroxyapatite, respectively. Biocompatibility and potential toxicity of the experimental cellulose/hydroxyapatite scaffolds were tested. It was determined that the scaffolds containing nanohydroxyapatite particles showed slight cytotoxic effect.