African Journal of Medicine and Surgery

African Journal of Medicine and Surgery ISSN 2756-3324 Vol. 11 (8), pp. 001-012, August, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Osteoinductive Properties of 17% Chitosan-Enhanced Bioactive Glass in Bone Regeneration: Insights from a Rat Model Study

Samira Jebahi^1,2*, Hassane Oudadesse¹, Bui XV^1, Hassib Keskes^3, Tarek Rebai^4, Abdelfattah el Feki² and Hafed el Feki⁵

¹Université de Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6226, Campus de Beaulieu, 263 av. du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France.
²Animal Ecophysiology Laboratory, Sciences Faculty of Sfax, Department of Life Sciences Sfax, Tunisia.
³Laboratory of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Medicine Faculty of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
⁴Laboratory of Histology, Medicine Faculty, Sfax, Tunisia.
⁵Laboratory of Science Materials and Environment Faculty, Sfax, Tunisia.

Accepted 11 April, 2024

Abstract

Bone loss due to skeletal trauma or metabolic diseases often necessitates bone grafting. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a bioactive glass-chitosan composite (BG-CH) created through a freeze-drying method. The composite, containing 17% wt% chitosan, was implanted in the femoral condyle of ovariectomized rats. The resected bone samples underwent analysis using various physicochemical techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). After two weeks, the spectrum of the implanted sample showed two significant absorption bands at 932 and 1036 cm-1, linked to (Si-O-Si) groups, which disappeared by 15 days post-surgery. These bands were replaced at 30 days by peaks at 601 and 564 cm-1, indicating the presence of phosphate groups from bone apatite. After four weeks, peaks at 31.6° and 25.8° (2θ) were observed, reflecting the degradation of BG-CH, which coincided with the replacement of the implant by bone cells. Our findings suggest that the addition of 17% wt% chitosan to the bioactive glass matrix significantly enhances bioactivity and osteoinductive properties, positioning BG-CH as a promising biomaterial for biomedical applications.

Key words: Chitosan-glasses, biomineralization, osteoinductivity, biomedical applications, bone defect healing.