Chitosan-BaTiO3 nanostructured piezopolymer for tissue engineering

[Display omitted] •Chitosan/hydroxylated BaTiO3 piezopolymer as chemical platform for Tissue Engineering.•BaTiO3 NPs hydroxylation enhances the interaction with Chitosan matrix.•Chitosan/hydroxylated BaTiO3 demonstrates piezoelectric d33ca. 11.24 pC/N.•Chitosan/hydroxylated BaTiO3 are biocompatible with human fibroblasts. Herein we report the synthesis of a piezopolymer composed of chitosan (CS)/hydroxylated BaTiO3 (OH-BTO) nanoparticles with enhanced biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and piezoelectric behavior that can be advantageously used in biomedical applications. Our CS/OH-BTO nanocomposites exhibit piezoelectric coefficient (d33 = 11.29 pC/N) between those of dry skin (0.05−0.19 pC/N) and bone (4-11 pC/N), demonstrating biocompatibility in contact with human fibroblasts (HF) cells after 24 h. SEM, XRD, FTIR and Raman measurements were performed to assess the mechanism of interaction between CS matrix and OH-BTO NPs and their correlation with the biological responses. Cytotoxicity assays with HF cells reveal that hydroxylation of BTO NPs does not affect the cell viability of CS/OH-BTO films with NPs concentration from 1 to 30 wt.%. In contrast, non-hydroxylated BTO NPs showed significant cell damage, which could be traced to uncontrollable NPs agglomeration. This behavior suggests that CS/OH-BTO nanocomposites can act as active material that promotes cell growth and can be used for biomedical purposes.