Abstract
The regeneration of damaged or diseased skeletal tissues remains asignificant clinical challenge. Although small bone fractur es ar e capableof self-repair after trauma, large defects or diseased (i.e., osteoporotic)tissues fail to heal properly. In this study, a novel biomimetic bonematrix with inorganic (hydroxyapatite, HA) and organic (collagen,Col) compositions were developed as major components of nanocom-posite. Three-dimensional porous HA/Col scaffold was fabricated byfreeze-drying method. The physicochemical and mechanical propertiesof HA/Col scaffold have been investigated after enzymatic cross-linkingwith microbial transglutaminase (mTGase). The results showed thatthe cro sslinked HA/Col scaffold could pro vide human mesenchym alstem cells (hMSCs) well adhesion, proliferation and growth. The novelty of this work is (i) to develop a novel biomimetic HA/Col nanocom-posite scaffold, and (ii) to use natural biologically-derived molecules ascross-linking agent instead of synthetic chemical agents, which hasbeen long-term regarded with cytotoxicity concerns. In summary, enzy-matic cross-linking HA/Col scaffolds possess more superior propertiesand potential compared to conventional collagen or HA matrices as anovel bone substituent for bone tissue regeneration.