Preparation and Characterization of Dextran/bioactive glass ceramic Nanocomposite Hydrogels as a Bone Tissue Substitute

Deficiencies of mechanical strength and physicochemical and bioactive properties of Dextran hydrogels, limits their potential applications in hard tissue engineering. In this study, a nanocomposite hydrogels made of dextran and bioactive glass ceramic nanoparticles (nBGC) was developed. The effect of nBGC addition was evaluated on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the fabricated nanocomposite hydrogels utilizing SEM, EDX and FT-IR analysis. In advance, it was found that the nBGC with mean particle size of 100 nm were prepared by sol–gel process. Furthermore, the SEM observations of freeze-dried hydrogels indicated that the prepared nanocomposite exhibited 3D-porous structures that the pore size was found to be 50–200 μm. The EDX studies showed that the bioactive nBGC were homogenously distributed within the Dextran matrix. Regard to enhanced bioactivity and physicochemical properties of the developed dextran/ nBGC composite hydrogel could be considered them as an ideal candidate for bone tissue engineering implant