Preparation and characterization of injectable chitosan-hydroxyapatite microspheres

The combination of chitosan and hydroxyapatite (HAp) in the form of injectable, porous and biodegradable structures seems to be an interesting route to promote localized bone regeneration, especially with the incorporation of cells or cell-targeted molecules. In the present work, chitosan-HAp microspheres were prepared and characterized in terms of size, morphology, water sorption and structure. Chitosan-HAp porous microspheres were successfully prepared using tripolyphosphate as coagulating agent. The size increased and the water sorption decreased with increasing HAp contents. The ceramic particles were well embedded and homogeneously distributed within the polymer matrix.