Enhanced Bioactivity of Chitosan-Alginate-Riboflavin Liquid-Exfoliated Molybdenum Disulfide Nanosheets for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Bone tissue engineering is a growing field that provides solutions for the treatment of bone deformities, injuries, diseases, and anomalies by replacing autograft and allograft procedures. Various scaffolding materials have been used for the construction of bone tissue, including metals, ceramics, and polymers. This study investigates an innovative liquid exfoliation approach for the production of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets using riboflavin (RF-MoS₂) as an exfoliation agent and subsequently analytically characterized for the development of bone scaffolding system. UV analysis of RF-MoS₂ shows the absorbance spectra at 610 and 668 nm and the particle size was 123 ± 4 nm and a surface charge of -16.1 ± 2 mV. Further, alginate-chitosan (Alg-Chi) and alginate-chitosan-riboflavin-MoS₂ (Alg-Chi-RF-MoS₂) nanocomposite scaffolds were developed. The morphology of the Alg-Chi-RF-MoS₂ scaffold was studied using scanning electron microscopy and pore size was found to be 210 ± 10 μm. Alg-Chi-RF-MoS₂ scaffolds generate calcium phosphate biominerals when immersed in a simulated body fluid. Alg-Chi and Alg-Chi-RF-MoS₂ scaffolds were biocompatible with C3H10T1/2 cells, and scaffolds showed a significant increase in alkaline phosphatase and mineralization. Thus, the developed Alg-Chi-RF-MoS₂ scaffold proved to be an appropriate artificial graft for bone graft substitution.