A novel injectable temperature-sensitive zinc doped chitosan/β-glycerophosphate hydrogel for bone tissue engineering

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymers that have a wide range of biomedical applications including bone tissue engineering. In this study we report preparation and characterization of a thermosensitive hydrogel (Zn-CS/beta-GP) containing zinc (Zn), chitosan (CS) and beta-glycerophosphate (beta-GP) for bone tissue engineering. The prepared hydrogel exhibited a liquid state at room temperature and turned into a gel at body temperature. The hydrogel was characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, FT-IR and swelling studies. The hydrogel enhanced antibacterial activity and promoted osteoblast differentiation. Thus, we suggest that the Zn-CS/beta-GP hydrogel could have potential impact as an injectable in situ forming scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.