Biosynthesis and in Vitro Evaluation of Macroporous Mineralized Bacterial Nanocellulose Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Macroporous bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) scaffolds with calcium phosphate coated surfaces is a candidate for future bone tissue engineering applications. The mineralization of the macroporous BNC scaffolds was achieved by a biomimetic process, resulting in an environment resembling native bone tissues' mineralized extra cellular matrix both topographically and chemically. The deposited crystals were analyzed with electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray crystallography (XRD). MSCs were cultured in osteogeneic medium for 21 days on the scaffolds. The results of this study show that macroporous BNC can be mineralized with hydroxyapatite and that MSCs retain their ability to proliferate and differentiate towards an osteoblastic phenotype within the mineralized BNC, showing the promise of this material in bone tissue engineering applications.