Chitosan/POSS hybrid hydrogels for bone tissue engineering

Hybrid hydrogels composed of chitosan (CS) have shown a great potential in bone tissue engineering and regeneration. The introduction of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS), in the biopolymeric matrix has demonstrated to improve the rheological and biological properties of the hybrid composites [1]. We have integrated the beneficial features of chitosan (CS) and POSS nanoparticles to design new nanocomposites for bone tissue regeneration, focusing our attention on the effect of POSS concentration within the CS matrix on the chemical, physical, rheological and in vitro biological properties of the final composites. The drug release ability of the synthesized hydrogel scaffolds were also investigated using ketoprofen as a model drug that was included in the scaffold during the gelling procedure [2]. The results of in vitro biological tests performed on human fetal osteoblastic cells (hFOB 1.19) culture, demonstrated the great bio-compatibility of the hybrid materials at the different POSS concentrations, thus revealing the CS/POSS hydrogels as potential candidate for bone tissue engineering applications.