Improved in vitro biocompatibility of surface-modified hydroxyapatite sponge scaffold with gelatin and BMP-2 in comparison against a commercial bone allograft.

This study aims to demonstrate the morphology and in vitro biocompatibility of neat and surface-modified hydroxyapatite sponge scaffold (SM-HASS) which was fabricated using a sponge replica method, and compared with the commercially available demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft (DFDBA). Surface-modifications were done by coating the surface area of the neat hydroxyapatite sponge scaffold (HASS) with either gelatin alone (HASS/G) or gelatin and BMP-2 growth factor (HASS/G+B). Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), porosity, pore size distribution, and compressive strength analyses showed that the addition of gelatin in HASS/G produced a morphologically and structurally similar scaffold to that of the allograft. The addition of BMP-2 improved the biocompatibility of the HASS/G+B in vitro using MC3T3-E1 cells which showed better cell viability, proliferation, and cell adhesion than on the allograft. Therefore, hydroxyapatite scaffold coated with gelatin polymer and gelatin with BMP-2 growth factor showed comparable performance against commercially available DFDBA from cadaver with regards to structure and in vitro biocompatibility.