Gum based 3D composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications

[Display omitted] •The gum-based 3D composite scaffolds were fabricated by freeze drying avoiding use of any organic solvent in the complete fabrication process.•The scaffolds were observed to have highly interconnected pores when their morphology was viewed by scanning electron microscope.•The scaffolds were found to have a low degradation rate upto 21 days, hence suitable to be employed as a bone graft.•The optimum scaffold with composition ratio of 2:1:5.44 having compressive strength of 12.662 MPa in its dry state and 0.3082 MPa in its wet state.•The optimum scaffolds with composition ratio of 2:1:5.44 were found to be biocompatible and facilitated proliferation of L929 and MG63 cells. The increase in population, greater life expectancy, and lifestyle choices have caused a drastic increase in the number of bone diseases such as bone tumours, osteoarthritis and bone fractures. This results in the dire need for treatment options such as suitable bone grafts that can be easily fabricated, and are economical. In this study, fabricated composite scaffolds are made from polysaccharide biopolymers, namely gellan and guar gum, and hydroxyapatite by freeze drying method. The developed scaffolds of optimum concentration showed a maximum percentage degradation of 13.7% only until 21 days in phosphate buffered saline solution, and minimum swelling capacity. The mechanically stable scaffolds (compressive strength equivalent to cancellous bone region, ˜3–30 MPa) amongst them were then subjected to characterization tests—scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, swelling ratio percentage determination, degradation profile study and water vapour transmission study. The cytotoxic evaluation of the optimised scaffolds was performed using MTT assay with murine fibroblast (L929) cells and osteosarcoma (MG63) cells. It was found that the scaffolds were non-cytotoxic and additionally, the cells had proliferated well within the scaffolds, which was confirmed by MTT assay at 1, 4 and 7 days after cell seeding onto the scaffolds.