Enhanced mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite bone graft coated with silane modified gelatin

INTRUCTION: Synthetic bone graft such as hydroxyapatite[(Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2] (HA) ceramic have been exhibited high tissue compatibility, osteoconductivity and resistance to infection. However, the insufficient bending strength of HA ceramic, probably too tight to bind of BMPs to HA limit its usage[1]. Various hydroxyapatite /collagen composites were developed as potential biomaterials for bone substitutes due to their compositional analogy to bone. However, the problem of brittleness of ceramic is not overcome by simple collagen or gelatin coating/blending. We have developed a novel material MGSF (modified gelatin crosslinked with silane and fructose) which exhibits superior properties over gelatin or crosslinked glutaraldehyde-gelatin with improved tensile strength, stable thermodynamic property and slow degradation by a proteolytic enzyme and good cytocompatibility. The aim of this study was to characterize MGSF coated HA surface on cellular supporting, growth factor association and dissociation and to evaluate mechanical properties due to surface coating.