Preparation of Lokta Paper Scaffold and Lokta Paper/Hydroxyapatite Composite Film for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

This research proposes to prepare Lokta paper-based scaffold and Lokta paper/hydroxyapatite composite film for bone tissue regeneration. Lokta paper is a fibrous biocompatible material resembling 3D structures of tissue that can be cut, folded, rolled, or manipulated into the desired shape. The paper scaffold was prepared using a sequential mineralization technique to deposit hydroxyapatite onto the paper. Experiments were conducted with four scaffold samples based on different incubation times and concentrations of mineralization solutions. The deposition of hydroxyapatite onto the paper was verified by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). It was found that with the increment in the mineralization cycle, the hydroxyapatite (HAp) content increased.  Furthermore, it also showed that the concentration of the mineralized solution had an insignificant effect on the deposition of HAp. HAp and Lokta paper/HAp composite film were prepared using the sol-gel and solvent casting methods, respectively.  Then the HAp and Lokta paper/HAp composite film were characterized by using FTIR and XRD methods. Furthermore, Human osteosarcoma epithelial cells (U2OS) cell culture and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was accomplished to examine the biocompatibility of the prepared samples. Comparing the cell viability of Lokta paper scaffold and Lokta paper/HAp composite film, even the cell viability of the 1st cycle mineralized Lokta paper scaffold was better than that of the Lokta paper/HAp film. Thus, it was concluded that the Lokta paper, itself in its pristine form, had similar cell viability with Lokta paper/HAp film, indicating that the Lokta paper would be an excellent biomaterial for bone tissue engineering.