Biofabrication of bacterial cellulose and hydroxylated hexagonal boron nitride nanocomposites based on in situ production strategies: Characterization and cytotoxicity evaluation

Abstract Bacterial cellulose is considered a highly promising biomaterial due to its three-dimensional network structure, especially its nanometer-scale fibers, which closely resemble the natural extracellular matrix. Hexagonal boron nitride is a novel material that has attracted increasing interest in the field of biomedicine. Hydroxylated hexagonal boron nitride modified bacterial cellulose (BC/BN) nanocomposite was produced by an in situ fermentation method. The physicochemical properties of the composite hydrogels were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For tissue application, the response of human osteoblast cells on the BC/BN nanocomposites has been evaluated in this study. The chemical structure, morphology, and hydrophilicity of the nanocomposites were characterized as well as, and the viability, adhesion and morphology of cells were also investigated. Cell proliferation, morphology, and adhesion were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) proliferation assays, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy, respectively. The results show that BC/BN nanocomposites promote higher levels of cell viability, adhesion, and proliferation compared to BC. The incorporation of BN was increased cell viability and enhanced osteoblast cells adhesion. These results demonstrate the potential application of the BC/BN nanocomposite for cellular response studies. Graphical abstract