Dielectric and electric properties of new chitosan-hydroxyapatite materials for biomedical application: Dielectric spectroscopy and corona treatment.

Chitosan-hydroxyapatite composite materials were synthesized and the possibility to make their surface charged by corona discharge treatment has been evaluated. Dielectric and electric properties of the materials were studied by dielectric spectroscopy, including application of equivalent circuits method and computer simulations. Dielectric spectroscopy shows behavior of the materials quite different from that of both chitosan and HA alone. The obtained dielectric permittivity data are of particular interest in predicting the materials' behavior in electrostimulation after implantation. The ε values observed at physiological temperature in the frequency ranges applied are similar to ε data available for bone tissues.

Characterization and in vivo evaluation of chitosan-hydroxyapatite bone scaffolds made by one step coprecipitation method.

Chitosan/hydroxyapatite scaffolds could be used for bone regeneration in case the application of auto- or allografts is impossible. The objective of the present work was to characterize and study in vivo biodegradation of simple chitosan/hydroxyapatite scaffolds. For this purpose, a series of chitosan/hydroxyapatite composites has been synthesized in aqueous medium from chitosan solution and soluble precursor salts by a one step coprecipitation method. A study of in vivo behavior of the materials was then performed using model linear rats. Cylindrical-shaped rods made of the chitosan/hydroxyapatite composite material were implanted into tibial bones of the rats. After 5, 10, 15, and 24 days of implantation, histological and histo-morphometric analyses of decalcified specimens were performed to evaluate the stages of biodegradation processes. Calcified specimens were examined by scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalysis to compare elemental composition and morphological characteristics of the implant and the bone during integration. Porous chitosan/hydroxyapatite scaffolds have shown osteoconductive properties and have been replaced in the in vivo experiments by newly formed bone tissue.