Mesoporous Calcium Silicate Loaded Thermosensitive Hydrogel for Bone Regenerative Applications

. Bone tissue engineering involves the use of biodegradable scaffolds, hydrogels and cellular constructs to augment bone formation. Hydrogels are superior over other forms of polymeric constructs owing to their high-water content and cytofriendly nature. Chitosan based thermosensitive hydrogels are widely explored for bone regenerative applications back lack osteogenic properties. Mesoporous calcium silicate (m-CSe), a silica containing bioceramics is known for its osteogenic properties. In this study, we have fabricated chitosan hydrogel loaded with mesoporous calcium wollastonite and characterized it using Scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses. The hydrogels were porous in nature and presence of m-CSe particles unaltered the thermos-gelation ability. In vitro biocompatibility assessment was assessed at the level of membrane integrity (LDH assay) and metabolic activity (MTT assay) depicting the biocompatible nature of the hydrogel. The hydrogel was able to adsorb proteins and the inclusion of m-CSe enhanced protein adsorption with controlled swelling properties. The hydrogel also upregulated the mRNA levels of Runx2, ALP, OCN and COL-I in mesenchymal stem cells. Overall, the study concluded the biocompatible nature of the fabricated thermosensitive hydrogel and the inclusion of mesoporous wollastonite particles enhanced the bioactive nature. This envisages the application of our hydrogel for bone tissue engineering applications.