Effect of chitosan and aragonite derived from cuttlebone waste on the bioactivity of bioactive glass nanoparticles (55S5): Physicochemical evaluation and cytotoxic investigations

Development of sustainable biomaterials has become essential to meet the needs and requirements of surgeons and industry in the field of bone tissue engineering and repair. This research work aims at developing chitosan/aragonite/nanobioglasses (CHS/ArgS/ NBG) based biocomposites derived from cuttlefish waste as sustainable biomaterials. Different biocomposites were synthesized by freeze-drying. Then, physicochemical characterizations using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were performed. In addition, the in vitro evaluation of their bioactivity was carried out by immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). The formation of a biologically active apatite layer on the surface of the biocomposites was investigated. The Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) technique was used to study ion exchanges between the biocomposites and SBF. Finally, their cytotoxicity was evaluated through co-culture with mesenchymal stem cells. The results indicate that the incorporation of 17% chitosan derived from cuttlefish bone by-products into the biocomposite improved the bioactivity of nanobioglasses and aragonite. The CHS/ArgS/NBG biocomposite exhibits an excellent ability to form an apatite layer on its surface, as confirmed by physicochemical analyses. Moreover, CHS/ArgS/ NBG showed notable cell viability (≥ 90%) and low apoptosis rates (< 11%) after 72 h of culture, indicating good biocompatibility and tolerance. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential of cuttlebone waste for the development of a sustainable hybrid composite biomaterial designed for bone tissue engineering applications.