Influence of chemically modified Luffa on the preparation of nanofiber and its biological evaluation for biomedical applications.

In the present investigation, the natural cellulose was extracted from Luffa cylindrica vegetable sponge by chemical modification. Both chemically modified and unmodified Luffa was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The chemically modified cellulose was used for the preparation of a nanofibrous scaffold using the electrospinning method. In order to achieve the uniform and bead free fibers with desired fiber diameter the parameters such as applied voltage, tip to collector distance, solution concentration were optimized. Different ratio of hydroxyapatite (HAP): polylactic acid (PLA) such as 40:60, 50:50, 60:40, and 70:30 have been selected for the current evaluation and was compared with HAP-treated cellulose (TC)-PLA. With the increase in the concentration of HAP in the polymeric network, the diameter of the fiber was found to be thin with the high electric field. The functional group, phase formation and dielectric and mechanical properties of the developed nanofiber have been characterized by FTIR, XRD, mechanical property measurements, and SEM. From the results, we observed that the polymer composite developed with the ratio of 70:30 produces a bead free product with enhanced mechanical and bioactivity property by the formation of hydroxy carbonated apatite layer on the surface. All the nanofibrous scaffold fabricated with and without modification have shown good Cyto compatibility on MG-63 Osteoblast cell lines at 48 hr. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 610-620, 2019.

Development of mechanically compliant 3D composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.

Cancellous bone region of the human native bone has the potential to bear significant mechanical loads. However, due to the following parameters such as low trabecular volume, more porosity, less thickness and more interconnectivity, cancellous bone is accessible to damage in accidents or when aging. This research led to the effective fabrication and engineering of cancellous region of the bone for its application in reconstruction or filling of bone voids after resection of large tumor mass. Scaffolds containing hydroxyapatite (HAp), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) (5% polymer and HAp concentrations) at different HAp: polymer composite ratios (50:50, 70:30 and 80:20), were fabricated by freeze-drying method using only water as solvent and ribose as crosslinker for the scaffolds. The fabricated scaffolds were characterized for its mechanical (compressive) strength, chemical properties using FT-IR and XRD analyses, swelling and degradation studies, confirmation of mineralization process by immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 7, 15 and 30 days, morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and biocompatibility properties by performing MTT analysis. From the combined interpretation of the above mentioned tests, it was proven that 80:20 ratio of HAp to polymers was found to be the most suitable scaffold in terms of its optimal properties for its use as bone graft material for trabecular bone. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 3267-3274, 2018.