Preparation and characterization of nano-hydroxy apatite/konjac glucomannan composite scaffolds

A novel nano-hydroxyapatite (HA)/konjac glucomannan composite scaffold with high porosity was developed by blending nano-HA particles with konjac glucomannan in alkaline solution. The scanning electron microscopy, porosity measurement, X-ray diffraction(XRD), and Fourier transformed infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy were used to analyze the physical and chemical properties of the composite scaffolds. The pure konjac glucomannan scaffolds and composite scaffolds were similar in their macroscopic morphology, however, the microscopic morphology on porewall surfaces was quite different. The diffraction patterns of XRD revealed the presence of konjac glucomannan and HA in the composite scaffolds. In addition, the results of FTIR also showed the existence of the functional group of HA. These results reveal that the newly developed nano-HA/konjac glucomannan composite scaffold may serve as a good three-dimensional substrate in bone tissue engineering.