Combinatorial approach to fabricate silica doped polyvinyl alcohol/hydroxyapatite/carrageenan nanocomposite for bone regeneration applications

Bone tissue engineering is a dominating approach for the fabrication of nanocomposite bone implants with superior biocompatibility and low toxicity to the surrounding tissues. Here, in this report ternary nanocomposites integrating nanohydroxyapatite/kappa-carrageenan/silica doped polyvinyl alcohol in three different ratios, that is, 60/30/10 (HCP1), 60/20/20 (HCP2), and 60/10/30 (HCP3) was constructed and a binary system comprised of nanohydroxyapatite and kappa-carrageenan was also prepared for analyzing and comparing their bone regeneration potential. The samples were characterized by various physico-chemical techniques such as infra-red spectroscopy, which furnished details about structural functionalities and complex formation. Rough surface morphology and dispersed particle size distribution of developed nanocomposites were revealed by scanning electron microscopy and electron transmission microscopy, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential temperature analysis revealed higher thermal stability of HCP3 nanocomposite with total weight loss of 10% and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed average crystallite size of 15 nm for HCP3 nanocomposite. Bioactivity and biocompatibility of fabricated nanocomposites were deduced with the help of biological techniques. HCP3 manifested cell viability above 100% at 2 mu g/mL concentration and exhibited hemolysis below 3% at all tested concentration favoring cell growth with minimum cytotoxicity. HCP3 also exhibited efficient apatite layer deposition, optimum swelling ability and improved biodegradability (similar to 30%) and anti-bacterial activity predicting it as a promising nanocomposite implant for future orthopedic applications.