Gum Arabic-Chitosan Composite Biopolymer Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Biopolymer composites are a very promising area for developing novel tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds. Chitosan is known to have a variety of properties that make it suitable for TE applications due to its biocompatible, antibacterial, and bio-degradable nature. Gum Arabic (GA) is a natural biopolymer that is incorporated into a number of food products. This study reports a biopolymer composite synthesized by mixing GA with Chitosan in amounts ranging from 0-90 wt% GA. The addition of GA caused a marked increase in the weight gain due to water uptake. 100% chitosan films gained approximately 50 wt% on aging in water while 17 wt% chitosan-83 wt% GA films gained over 250 wt% due to water absorption. Thermogravimetric (TGA) and Carbon-Hydrogen-Nitrogen (CHN) elemental analysis were used as techniques to characterize the material. MC3T3-E1 mouse pre-osteoblast cells were used in an initial assessment of the suitability of these scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was used as a method to characterize the films in vitro. The cells initially adhered to the composite films and exhibited minimal toxicity, but gradually started to detach from the films after one week.