Effect of magnetite nanoparticles on the biological and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite porous scaffolds coated with ibuprofen drug

Gelatin (GN) is a polymer, which is similar to the protein derived from collagen, an organic element in the bone. GN can incorporate into the mineral part of the bone, hydroxyapatite (HA). The HA bioceramic has properties very close to the natural bone characteristics. Therefore, in this research, bio-nanocomposite scaffolds made of the HA composed with magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) are fabricated. For this purpose, the space holder technique is put to use using NaCl particles as the spacers. The HA-X%MNP (X = 0 wt%, 5 wt%, 10 wt%, and 15 wt%) scaffolds are coated via gelatin-ibuprofen (GN-IBO) in order to determine the capabilities of the scaffolds for compatibility and fibroblastic cells of the related tissue. The coated bio-nanocomposite scaffolds are characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) tools. Then, the porosity and bioactivity of the prepared samples are tested in the simulated body fluid (SBF), and the associated compressive strength, fracture toughness, porosity and hardness are investigated. Also, the magnetic behavior of the scaffolds during the release of IBO in the phosphate buffer saline (PBS) is monitored after 21 days incubation. Finally, an analytical sandwich plate model is developed to analyze the vibrational response of an axially loaded plate-type HA-MNP bio-nanocomposite implants. The obtained X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms the presence of IBO peaks after removing the samples from the PBS which proves the lower release speed of the sample containing 10 wt% MNPs. It is found that the interaction between IBO and HA affects the mechanical performance of the scaffolds. IBO release profiles present a burst release that depends on the HA content. The given results indicate that the manufactured scaffolds have good potentials for biological as well as hyperthermia applications in bone tissue engineering.