Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar 8;16(6):747.
doi: 10.3390/polym16060747.

Sol-Gel Derived Gelatin-Bioactive Glass Nanocomposite Biomaterials Incorporating Calcium Chloride and Calcium Ethoxide

Rebeca Arambula-Maldonado  1 , Kibret Mequanint  1   2
Affiliations

Sol-Gel Derived Gelatin-Bioactive Glass Nanocomposite Biomaterials Incorporating Calcium Chloride and Calcium Ethoxide

Rebeca Arambula-Maldonado et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Calcium-containing organic-inorganic nanocomposites play an essential role in developing bioactive bone biomaterials. Ideally, bone substitute materials should mimic the organic-inorganic composition of bone. In this study, the roles of calcium chloride (CaCl2) and calcium ethoxide (Ca(OEt)2) were evaluated for the development of sol-gel-derived organic-inorganic biomaterials composed of gelatin, bioactive glass (BG) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to create nanocomposites that mimic the elemental composition of bone. Nanocomposites composed of either CaCl2 or Ca(OEt)2 were chemically different but presented uniform elemental distribution. The role of calcium sources in the matrix of the nanocomposites played a major role in the swelling and degradation properties of biomaterials as a function of time, as well as the resulting porous properties of the nanocomposites. Regardless of the calcium source type, biomineralization in simulated body fluid and favorable cell attachment were promoted on the nanocomposites. 10T1/2 cell viability studies using standard media (DMEM with 5% FBS) and conditioned media showed that Ca(OEt)2-based nanocomposites seemed more favorable biomaterials. Collectively, our study demonstrated that CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2 could be used to prepare sol-gel-derived gelatin-BG-MWCNT nanocomposites, which have the potential to function as bone biomaterials.

Keywords: bioactivity; bone biomaterial; calcium; gelatin–bioactive glass–MWCNT biomaterials; nanocomposites; sol-gel.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical characterization of PF-127 surfactant, sol-gel precursors, organic, inorganic and nanocomposites using CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2 as calcium sources. (A) FTIR spectra of PF-127 surfactant, sol-gel TEOS and TEP precursors, as well as CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2 calcium sources. (B) Digital images of CaCl2- and Ca(OEt)2-based 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposite disks. FTIR spectra of gelatin, BG containing CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2, 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites composed of either CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Surface elemental homogeneity in 50-50-1 nanocomposites using CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2 as calcium sources. (A) SEM image, (B) atomic percentages of elements, and elemental mapping of (C) carbon, (D) silicon, (E) calcium, (F) phosphorous for the CaCl2-based 50-50-1 nanocomposite. (G) SEM image, (H) atomic percentages of elements, and elemental mapping of (I) carbon, (J) silicon, (K) calcium, (L) phosphorus for the Ca(OEt)2-based 50-50-1 nanocomposite. Scale bar = 1 µm.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Swelling behavior of 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites composed of CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2 calcium sources. Digital images of nanocomposites as-prepared in dry state (A) and after (B) incubation in PBS for 6 days in wet state. (C) Swelling ratio of Ca(OEt)2-based nanocomposites throughout 6 days of incubation. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
Figure 4
Figure 4
In vitro biodegradation study of 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites composed of CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2 calcium sources. (A) Digital images of CaCl2- and Ca(OEt)2-based 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites after 6 days of degradation. (B) Biodegradation behavior of CaCl2- and Ca(OEt)2-based 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites within 6 days. SEM images of nanocomposites before (C) 50-50-0 (CaCl2), (D) 50-50-1 (CaCl2), (E) 50-50-0 (Ca(OEt)2), (F) 50-50-1 (Ca(OEt)2) and after (G) 50-50-0 (CaCl2), (H) 50-50-1 (CaCl2), (I) 50-50-0 (Ca(OEt)2), (J) 50-50-1 (Ca(OEt)2) 6 days of degradation. Scale bar = 1 µm. * p < 0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Micro-CT images of CaCl2- and Ca(OEt)2-containing 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites after 6 days of degradation. (A–C) 50-50-0 (CaCl2), (D–F) 50-50-1 (CaCl2), (G–I) 50-50-0 (Ca(OEt)2), (J–L) 50-50-1 Ca(OEt)2). (B,E,H,K) are horizontal cross-sections of nanocomposites. (C,F,I,L) are vertical cross-sections of nanocomposites.
Figure 6
Figure 6
In vitro bioactivity of CaCl2- and Ca(OEt)2-based 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites. (A) SEM images of the surfaces of nanocomposites after SBF incubation for 7 days. Scale bar = 1 µm. (B) FTIR and (C) XRD spectra of CaCl2- and Ca(OEt)2-based 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites after SBF treatment for 7 days.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Attachment and viability of 10T1/2 cells on CaCl2- and Ca(OEt)2-based 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites. (A) Fluorescent images of 10T1/2 cells after 24 h of culture. Scale bar = 100 µm at 10× magnification and scale bar = 50 µm at 20× magnification. (B) Live/dead staining of 10T1/2 cells cultured on CaCl2- and Ca(OEt)2-based 50-50-0 and 50-50-1 nanocomposites. Scalebar = 200 µm. (C) Live/dead staining on cells cultured with conditioned media (extracts). Scalebar = 200 µm. (D) Number of live cells at 168 h of conditioned media culture. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Aslankoohi N., Mequanint K. Poly(ester amide)–Bioactive Glass Hybrid Biomaterials for Bone Regeneration and Biomolecule Delivery. ACS Appl. Bio Mater. 2020;3:3621–3630. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.0c00257. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mondal D., Lin S., Rizkalla A.S., Mequanint K. Porous and biodegradable polycaprolactone-borophosphosilicate hybrid scaffolds for osteoblast infiltration and stem cell differentiation. J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater. 2019;92:162–171. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2019.01.011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tallia F., Ting H.-K., Page S.J., Clark J.P., Li S., Sang T., Russo L., Stevens M.M., Hanna J.V., Jones J.R. Bioactive, Degradable and Tough Hybrids Through Calcium and Phosphate Incorporation. Front. Mater. 2022;9:901196. doi: 10.3389/fmats.2022.901196. - DOI
    1. Hench L.L. Bioceramics. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 2005;81:1705–1728. doi: 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1998.tb02540.x. - DOI
    1. Aslankoohi N., Lin S., Mequanint K. Bioactive fluorescent hybrid microparticles as a stand-alone osteogenic differentiation inducer. Mater. Today Bio. 2022;13:100187. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2021.100187. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources