Experimental Study of Apatite Layer Formation on Chitosan/Bioactive Glass Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Regeneration

In this study, sol-gel derived bioactive glass (BG), in the ternary SiO2-CaO-P2O5 system, was synthesized and added as a reinforcement material in Chitosan (CH)-matrix scaffolds with ratios of CH/BG 70/30, 50/50 and 30/70. The scaffolds were prepared by freeze-drying process for 24 hours. The addition of BG in the CH-matrix improved the composite scaffolds bioactivity, as seen by the precipitation of bone like apatite layer after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 7 days. The apatite layer formation on the surface of each scaffold was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). XRD result for BG indicated net formation using alternative calcium and phosphorus sources. SEM, XRD and FTIR results demonstrated that CH/BG scaffolds had higher bioactivity in comparison with CH scaffolds. These results advised that synthesized BG had a potentiality as reinforcement material in CH scaffolds and better bioactive behavior.