Development and investigation of novel alginate-hyaluronic acid bone fillers using freeze drying technique for orthopedic field

Cartilage tissue has a low cell population with a dense extracellular matrix (ECM) and is also devoid of neurons as well as blood and lymph vessels. Bone tissue is able to heal itself but in cases of serious damage and auxiliary treatment methods are necessary. Nevertheless, they have their own restrictions and downsides. Tissue engineering is working towards overcoming these challenges using 3D printing and freeze-drying technique. This research project aims to develop and study the properties of a freeze-dried antibacterial tissue based on alginate, hyaluronic acid and titanium dioxide nanoparticles using freeze drying technique. The mechanical evaluations showed that the addition of titanium dioxide improved tensile strength, hardness and wettability of the antibacterial nanocomposite scaffold. The biological assessments of the sample were evaluated in the simulated body fluid to stimulate the hard tissue reaction with biological environment. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The obtained results indicated that addition of titanium oxide nanoparticle improved the hyaluronic acid polymer for bone filler using for orthopedic applications. The XRD analysis did not detect the formation of any new unwanted chemicals in the composite samples. The microscopic assessments confirmed the formation of nanocomposite scaffold containing titanium dioxide nanoparticles, with a porosity percentage between 77% and 82%. The phase analysis confirmed the triploid amorphous structure showing a significant resemblance to natural human bone tissue, thus supporting the idea of using this biomaterial as a multilayer bone filler.