Cell behavior on SiO2-Hydroxyapatite coaxial composite

Abstract

In the last years an effort has been made to produce materials which aid in the recovery of damaged tissue. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a material with lots of potential in tissue regeneration, however, its structural characteristics need to be improved for better performance. In this study SiO2 -HA non-woven electrospun membranes were prepared using HA and SiO2 obtained through the sol-gel method. Three configurations of the membranes were obtained and tested in vitro, showing that the composite of SiO2 -HA fibers showed a high percentage of viability on a fibroblast cell line. The obtained SiO2 -HA polymeric fibers had approximately 230±20 nm in diameter and were then sintered at 800 °C average diameter decreased to 110±17 nm. The surface area of the sintered SiO2 -HA fibers was 5.77 m2 /g. After sintering the obtained composite, it was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, where the presence of bands corresponding to Si-O, Si-O-Si bonds of silica, phosphate and carbonate where found. XRD confirmed the composite composition by showing peaks corresponding to silica and hydroxyapatite. It is concluded that the fibers of SiO2 -HA set in a coaxial configuration may be helpful to develop materials for bone regeneration.