Abstract
Background. Scaffolds are one of the key components of tissue engineering that play an important role in cell growth. The present study aimed to prepare hydroxyapatite-gelatin nanoscaffolds containing vanilla.
Methods. In this in vitro examination, the scaffolds were prepared using the precipitation method. Then, vanilla was loaded into the prepared structures. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to evaluate the size and morphology of the scaffold. The surface charge of the scaffold (zeta potential) was also assessed by employing a Zetasizer. The loading of vanilla was evaluated via ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry at 372 nm.
Results. The results showed that the scaffold was well prepared and had good physicochemical properties, including appropriate particle size (110.23±0.42 nm), good particle distribution, high drug loading (65.03± 0.25%), and acceptable suspension stability (zeta potential equal to 36.42±0.80 mV). Descriptive statistics (mean ± SD) were used to report the results.
Conclusion. Based on the obtained results of the current study, we suggest that the prepared scaffolds can be used for in vitro and in vivo applications in future studies for tissue engineering. More investigations are needed to test the usefulness of these scaffolds.