Hydroxyapatite−loaded starch/polyvinyl alcohol scaffold for bone regeneration application: preparation and characterization

Hydroxyapatite (HA) embedded in polymer-based bone scaffold exhibits excellent medical properties for bone healing. Indeed, limited studies have reported on the addition of HA into starch/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) scaffold system, especially HA role as bio-additive releasing Ca 2+ ion promoting biomineralization. Herein, HA derived from chicken bone with the particles size ranging from 100 to 600 nm loaded starch/PVA composite scaffold with different amount was fabricated using a salt-leaching method. XRD and SEM-EDS analysis indicated the presence of HA in starch/PVA composite. FTIR results showed that the chemical bondings in starch/PVA matrices were not affected by the introduction of HA. Morphology and architecture of scaffolds characterized by SEM demonstrated pore size and their structure satisfying the needs of bone scaffolds. Young modulus of composite scaffold increased with the increase of HA loading content. The Ca 2+ release analyzed by ion chromatography system showed the increasing trend with amount of HA addition into scaffold, which improved mineralization of composite scaffold in in-vitro observed by SEM-EDS. HA-loaded starch/PVA scaffold demonstrated a similar biodegradation rate and amount to the starch/ PVA scaffold. According to the result, loading starch/PVA with HA can be proposed a potential candidate for bone regeneration. Graphical Abstract Highlights HA-loaded starch/PVA scaffolds prepared by salt leaching method showed high porous structure with porosity ranging from 85.2 to 90.3%, interconnected pores and wide range of pore size (up to 500 µm for large pore). Calcium ion release from HA increased with the HA content in composite scaffolds. HA acted as a bio-additive accelerating the formation of hydroxyapatite precursor in the surface during the incubation in the SBF solution.