Assessment of cellulose nanowhisker as scaffold for osteoblast

초록

Loss of bone tissue can occur due to its disease and aging or fracture. Bone reorganization is mainly induced by differentiation and metabolism of osteoblasts. For this reason, osteoblasts have been studied for reorganization of bone tissue. In tissue engineering, scaffold is an important factor that supports cell growth and activity. Cellulose nanowhisker(CNW) is one of abundant materials that can be obtained from a number of plants and animals. CNW is a polymer consisting of cellulose monomers that offer biodegradability and biocompatibility to CNW. Mechanical strength of CNW is superior to the other natural polymers. In addition, marine-originated materials have a low risk of secondary infection by bacteria and pathogens compared with land-derived ones. To evaluated suitability of tunicate CNW as an osteoblast scaffold, we fabricate CNW film for osteoblasts culture and performed MTT and ALP assay to study its cytotoxicity effect on differentiation and cytotoxicity. We confirmed that differentiation and activity of osteoblasts were normally progressed on CNW film. Taking together these results, we determined that CNW is a potential candidate of a material for bone tissue reorganization.