Poly ethylene glycol/fish scale-derived hydroxyapatite composite porous scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

In the present study, hydroxyapatite (HAp) is synthesized from fish scale of Labeo rohita for development of composite bone scaffold. In order to determine suitable calcination temperature for the synthesis of HAp, thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) of the collected fish scale has been performed. It is found that no degradation of mass occurs beyond 800°C indicating the calcination temperature of fish scales for HAp synthesis. The fish scales are alkali treated and calcined at 1000°C. The calcined powders are characterized by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy which confirms formation of HAp. TGA of the synthesized HAp has been carried out to investigate the phase changes and its thermal stability. Porous composite bone scaffold is developed using the synthesized HAp and poly ethylene glycol through solvent casting technique. The developed scaffold is tested for its mechanical strength by uniaxial compression testing and its morphology is studied by scanning electron microscopy. The scaffold manifest desired mechanical performance with a compressive strength of 4.93 MPa and interconnected porosity with a maximum pore diameter of 167 microns making it suitable for growth of bone cells. The developed scaffold can have possible applications in bone tissue engineering and treatment of segmental bone defects.