Preliminary Investigation of the Usability of Brown Meagre Otoliths as an Alternative Material in Bone Tissue Engineering

The need for biomaterials is increasing daily due to the increasing number of health problems and the doubling of the population. Especially bone structures are among the most important tissues in terms of human quality of life. In this study, Brown Meagre (BM) fish skull otoliths, which are organic-based calcite structures, were examined and a preliminary investigation of their usability for bone structures was carried out. For this purpose, otoliths taken from BMs speared from the Ordu coast of the Black Sea were cleaned with H2O2 and SEM, SEM EDX, XRD, FTIR and ICP MS analyses were performed, and the results were compared with bone structures. In the light of these data, it was determined by analyses that the calcite structure is in the aragonite phase and allows the accumulation of oligoelements. Otolith structures, which have the potential to be alternative raw materials for biomaterial production, also provide the utilisation of organic-based waste materials. It is aimed that otoliths, like coral structures studied in the literature, will contribute to bone tissue engineering studies, which are seen in calcite structures and whose biochemical interactions with enzyme structures are still not completely solved.