Electro-conductive silica nanoparticles-incorporated hydrogel based on alginate as a biomimetic scaffold for bone tissue engineering application

Abstract

An innovative electrically conductive hydrogel was fabricated through the incorporation of silica nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs) and poly(aniline-co-dopamine) (PANI-co-PDA) into oxidized alginate (OAlg) as a biomimetic scaffold for bone tissue engineering application. The developed self-healing chemical hydrogel was characterized by FTIR, SEM, TEM, XRD, and TGA. The electrical conductivity and swelling ratio of the hydrogel were obtained as 1.7 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ and 130%, respectively. Cytocompatibility and cell proliferation potential of the developed scaffold were approved by MTT assay using MG-63 cells. FE-SEM imaging approved the potential of the fabricated scaffold for hydroxyapatite (HA) formation and bioactivity induction through immersing in SBF solution.

Graphical Abstract

An innovative biomimetic electrically conductive hydrogel composed of alginate (Alg), poly(aniline-co-dopamine) (PANI-co-PDA), and silica nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs) was developed, and its performance in bone tissue engineering (TE) was preliminary investigated in terms of several physicochemical/biological characteristics.

Keywords:

• Alginate
• bioactivity induction
• biomimetic scaffold
• electrical conductivity
• poly(aniline-co-dopamine)
• silica nanoparticles

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was financially supported by Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran (Grant Number: 4000872).