Properties of biomineralized (CaCO3) PVP-CMC hydrogel with reference to its cytotoxicity

The authors focus on properties of biomineralized (CaCO3) PVP-CMC hydrogel (designated as I-X) including cytotoxicity assay using primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. The biomineralized samples (VII-X) showed >80% cell viability, was selected for further characterizations. FTIR and XRD indicate deposition of CaCO3 within the PVP-CMC hydrogel matrix, SEM shows changes in morphology and pore diameter (VII and VIII: 1-12 mu m; IX: 10-70 mu m; X: 70-170 mu m), TGA determines the decomposition scenario of CaCO3, and tensile strength of samples (VII-X) ranged between 0.04 and 1.0GPa, which practically corresponds to the modulus of cancellous bone.