Preparation and characterisation of nanohydroxyapatite-sodium alginate-polyvinyl alcohol composite scaffold.

In this study, novel porous composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering and drug delivery system were prepared from nanohydroxyapatite, biodegradable Ca crosslinked sodium alginate (SA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by the method of coprecipitation. The properties of the composite were characterised by the means of burning test, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, mechanical test and cell experiment. The results show that the nanohydroxyapatite component could disperse uniformly in SA-PVA copolymer matrix. Excellent miscibility existed among the three phases and inter- or intrahydrogen bonding could be formed among the three phases. The entrance of PVA matrix in the composite enhanced the mechanical properties of the composite scaffold. The scaffold exhibited highly porous structure with a pore size of 50-250 μm and porosity up to 75%. When the porous scaffold contained 50% PVA, its compressive strength reached 8·29 MPa. Preliminary cell experiment testified that the composite scaffold was no cytotoxicity. This triphasic composite scaffold shows good prospects for bone tissue engineering and controlled drug delivery system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]