Preparation of Diatom-Doped Bio-Nanocomposite Materials for Bone Tissue Scaffolds

Naturally sourced materials have an important place in bone tissue engineering due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Non-diatom, diatom-doped chitosan/hydroxyapatite (CS/HAp) and collagen/chitosan/hydroxyapatite (Col/CS/HAp) as three-dimensional tissue scaffolds were produced by freeze drying technique. It was determined by SEM analysis that CS/HAp, CS/HAp/Di, Col/CS/HAp, Col/CS/HAp/Di scaffolds have 160 μm, 130 μm, 390 μm and 340 μm pores, respectively. The diatoms in the structure have approximately 9-16 μm in length, 8-20 μm in diameter and nanopore sizes of 260-330 nm. Cell culture studies were performed using the 3T3 cell line to study the non-toxic nature of biocomposite scaffolds that support cell attachment and proliferation. The cells in the scaffolds without diatom proliferate in a reticulated manner, whereas in the scaffolds containing diatom the cells were wrapped around the scaffold like a cover. The suggested scaffolds have the potential to meet the basic requirements in biocompatibility, cytocompatibility and interconnected pore structure.