Sustainable Production of Supramolecular Hydrogels Based on Bioactive Glass/Monoammonium Salt of Glycyrrhizic Acid/Chitosan Assemblies for Biomedical Applications

Fabrication of biomaterials that closely mimic the architecture of native biological tissues is one of the main goals of tissue engineering. In this regard, hydrogels featuring high-water content and porous networks may closely resemble the extracellular matrix of living tissue. The aim of this work was to obtain and to provide structural characterization along with preliminary biological assessment of the hydrogel assemblies composed of bioactive glass (BG), chitosan (Ch), and monoammonium salt of glycyrrhizic acid (MSGA). The structural characterization of reactants and products performed by means of Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscopy revealed the complex relationships through the formation of hydrogen bonds and interaction of the chitosan’s amino and hydroxyl groups with the structural units of BG. Finally, new assemblies were introduced to a culture of the human osteoblast cell line (hFOB) in order to assess cytocompatibility, as well as their influence on proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. According to indirect MTS analysis, experimental compositions demonstrated about 100% or high cell viability after incubation in a culture of the human osteoblast cell line for 96 h. These promising results support the feasibility of further investigations involving osteogenic marker expression and in vivo implantation studies to evaluate the tissue regeneration potential of the developed materials