Fabrication and characteristics of novel acellular bone matrix-chitosan scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Objective To study the method to prepare novel acellular bone extracellular matrix（ABECM） and acellular bone matrix-chitosan scaffolds and to evaluate their physicochemical properties. Methods A fresh porcine femur was treated with Triton X-100 and sodium dodecyl sulfate（SDS）,respectively.Acellular bone matrix-chitosan scaffolds were prepared with the solution-mixing and freeze-drying method.ABECM was qualitatively analyzed.Morphology,porosity,mechanical properties and biocompatibility of cultured ABECM chitosan scaffolds were observed with acellular Triton X-100 and SDS,respectively. Results The histological staining of ABECM showed that there were no cellular debris in the scaffolds and anti-collagen Ⅰimmunohistochemistry staining was positive.SEM scanning showed that the scaffolds had a porous structure with a pore diameter of 50-200μm.The porosity assay showed that the average porosity was 53.50%±4.23%.The mechanical assay showed that the compress module of dry and wet scaffolds was（33.23±14.45）MPa and（2.27±1.13）MPa,respectively.The cell adhesion test showed that the BMSC grew well on the scaffolds without any growth inhibition. Conclusion Acellular bone matrix-chitosan scaffolds can reserve most extracellular matrix after thorough decellularization,with a good pore diameter and porosity as well as a good biocompatibility,thus making it a novel cell-carrier in bone tissue engineering.