Bone-like apatite formation in phosphate-crosslinked sodium alginate-based hydrogels

Bioactive materials exhibiting bone-like apatite formation are crucial for inducing the osteogenic potentials of bone cells in the bone tissue engineering field. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of bioactive phosphatecrosslinked sodium alginate-based (PSA) hydrogels for biomineralization using a calcium-free approach. The hydrogels produced contained interconnected porous networks and exhibited improved swelling and biodegradable properties with excellent bone-like apatite formation abilities under simulated body fluid (SBF) conditions, which were attributed to the presence of phosphate groups. The devised functional phosphatecrosslinked sodium alginate hydrogels provided potential scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.