Bioabsorbable materials have received increasing attention as innovative systems for the development of osteoconductive biomaterials for bone tissue engineering. In this paper, chitosan-based composites were synthesized adding hydroxyapatite and/or magnetite in a chitosan matrix by in situ precipitation technique. Composites were characterized by optical and electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and in vitro cell culture studies. Hydroxyapatite and magnetite were found to be homogeneously dispersed in the chitosan matrix and the composites showed superior biocompatibility and the ability to support cell attachment and proliferation; in particular, the chitosan/hydroxyapatite/magnetite composite (CS/HA/MGN) demonstrated superior bioactivity with respect to pure chitosan (CS) and to the chitosan/hydroxyapatite (CS/HA) scaffolds.
Keywords: chitosan/hydroxyapatite; magnetite; osteoconduction; tissue engineering.