Effect of RGD Immobilization on Biocompatibility of Oxidized Cellulose Scaffold in Bone Tissue Engineering

Human tissue failures caused by different damages or injuries are the most serious and costly problems in health care and have direct effect on life quality. Tissue Engineering, as a scaffold-based strategy, provides promising research field and may offer innovative viewpoints to treat diseases. Scientists in various fields have tried to functionalize polymers to achieve special surface cell interactions. Cellulose powder was oxidized with NO2 gas and the porous scaffold was fabricated via dry pressing. RGD peptide was immobilized on the surface of scaffold via grafting to make a hybrid scaffold. The hybrid scaffold was characterized by FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) and SEM (Scanning electron microscope) and its biocompatibility was examined through MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. FTIR results proved oxidization of cellulose and bonding between scaffold surface and RGD. Porous microstructure having suitable size was confirmed via SEM. The results of MTT showed significant increase of viable cells on hybrid scaffold. Porous structure and high biocompatibility were benefits of prepared hybrid scaffold. Cellulose oxidation can present suitable condition for RGD immobilization caused to enhance biocompatibility. In addition, existing pores in good size conditioned hybrid scaffold to engineer bone tissue.