Biomimetic assembly of multilevel hydroxyapatite using bacterial cellulose hydrogel as a reactor

Abstract

In this paper, in a simple alternating immersion method, bacterial cellulose hydrogel (BCH) is used as a template to produce hydroxyapatite (HA) by oriented crystallization and a multilevel structure ranging from nano-scale needles to submicron-scale pompons and micron-scale hollow coaxial tubules of HA crystals. The presence of egg white protein significantly improves the crystallinity of the HA. Analysis of the mineralization mechanism shows that the weak coordination of the hydroxyl groups on the BC molecule with Ca²⁺ and the steric hindrance in the BCH are the major factors in the assembly of the HA. This study may help people understand the mechanism of bone mineralization and provide guidance for its biomimetic preparation.