Gelatin–Amino Acid Coordinated Hydroxyapatite as an Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Polymer System for Biomimetic Bone Applications
C. Elavarasi, J. Vinoth Kumar, P. Saravanan, R. Mary Sinthiya, A. Arokia Nepolean Raj, S. Bharathi Bernadsha, V. Collins Arun Prakash, Subha Veeramani, Mohammed F. AlbeshrABSTRACT
Synthesis and characterization of improved bioactivity and cytocompatibility of hydroxyapatite (HAP) co‐functionalized with gelatin (G) and the amino acid leucine (L) or tyrosine (T) prepared through a hydrothermal process. Phase‐pure, nano HAP with a crystallite size of 15–18 nm and a minimum size of crystallites was noticed in co‐modified samples (GL: 15.39 nm, GT: 15.48 nm) and was successfully confirmed by x‐ray diffraction (XRD). The successful formation of HAP was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy to identify the presence of characteristic peaks. Analysis of SEM showed that the cofunctionalized samples (GL, GT) had a uniform, fine, and less‐agglomerated morphology and recapitulated the structure of the natural bone mineral in nanostructure. TGA showed an increase in the organic content of the modified samples, indicating a synergistic increase in the GT composite. The DTA results have proven that the incorporation of organic additives had resulted in the structural modification, thereby enhancing the thermal stability of the samples. In vitro evaluation of cytotoxicity was conducted by using MG‐63 osteoblast‐like cells, and the cytocompatibility was excellent, with cell viability being over 90% in all the concentrations of the T, GT, and GL samples tested.