Characterization of the Physical Properties and Biocompatibility of Polybenzoxazine-based Aerogels for Use as a Novel Hard-tissue Scaffold
Abstract
The process to successfully synthesize polybenzoxazine (PBO)-based aerogels has recently been optimized; however, the biocompatibility of these materials has never been investigated. PBO is synthesized from bisphenol A and aniline, which are both precursors to many commonly used biomaterials, including polyurethane. Surface-wise these new aerogels resemble the innate extracellular matrix of bone and if these new aerogels exhibit acceptable biocompatibility, they may be used as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering. Here, we aimed to characterize some of the physical properties of PBO aerogels, PBO aerogels co-polymerized with resorcinol and formaldehyde (RF) and their conversion to carbon aerogel, while determining the compatibility of all of these materials towards human osteoblasts. Biocompatibility was determined with a live/dead cell cytotoxicity assay, a metabolic activity assay, alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin production, after incubation with PBO-based aerogels for up to 5 days. PBO aerogels co-polymerized with RF tended to have a low density, porosity and elastic modulus and provided the weakest substrate for bone cell growth. PBO-derived carbon aerogels tended to have a high density, a large porosity and improved mechanical properties and provided the best substrate for bone cell growth. These results suggest that PBO based carbon aerogels have a suitable biocompatibility towards osteoblasts and that they may be able to be used for bone tissue engineering scaffolds. © 2011 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden.
Recommended Citation
D. A. Rubenstein et al., "Characterization of the Physical Properties and Biocompatibility of Polybenzoxazine-based Aerogels for Use as a Novel Hard-tissue Scaffold," Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, Taylor & Francis, Jan 2012.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1163/092050611X576954
Department(s)
Chemistry
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0920-5063
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2012 Taylor & Francis, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2012