Abstract
This study proposes an innovative way of synthesizing porous gelatin/silica bioglass composite microspheres with a nanofibrous structure using emulsion coupled with thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). In particular, a mixture of the solvent (water) and non-solvent (ethanol) was used to induce a unique phase separation of gelatin/silica mixtures (i.e. gelatin/silica hybrid-rich and liquid-rich phases) at - 70 °C for the creation of a nanofibrous structure. All the composite microspheres synthesized with silica contents of 10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, and 20 wt.% had well-defined spherical shapes between 124 and 136 μm in size. In addition, they were comprised of nanofibrous gelatin/silica composite walls (several tens of nanometers in thickness), where the sol-gel derived silica bioglass phase was uniformly distributed throughout the gelatin matrix. The in vitro apatite-forming ability and biocompatibility of the nanofibrous gelatin/silica bioglass composite microspheres was significantly enhanced with an increase in silica content, demonstrating their great potential for the promotion of bone tissue regeneration.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 678-685 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Materials Science and Engineering C |
Volume | 62 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 May 1 |
Keywords
- Bioactivity
- Bone tissue engineering
- Hybrid
- Microspheres
- Nanofibrous
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering