María del Mar Blanes Martínez

Ms. María del Mar Blanes Martínez

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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28 October 2022 in Gels
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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FAFarah Alwani Binti Azaman
Farah Alwani Binti Azaman
KZKeran Zhou
Keran Zhou
MMMaría del Mar Blanes Martínez
María del Mar Blanes Martínez
MFMargaret E. Brennan Fournet
Margaret E. Brennan Fournet
Declan M. DevineDeclan M. Devine
Declan M. Devine
Bone tissue engineering (BTE) is an ongoing field of research based on clinical needs to treat delayed and non-union long bone fractures. An ideal tissue engineering scaffold should have a biodegradability property matching the rate of new bone turnover, be non-toxic, have good mechanical properties, and mimic the natural extracellular matrix to induce bone regeneration. In this study, biodegradable chitosan (CS) scaffolds were prepared with combinations of bioactive ceramics, namely hydroxyapatite (HAp), tricalcium phosphate-α (TCP- α), and fluorapatite (FAp), with a fixed concentration of benzophenone photoinitiator (50 µL of 0.1% (w/v)) and crosslinked using a UV curing system. The efficacy of the one-step crosslinking reaction was assessed using swelling and compression testing, SEM and FTIR analysis, and biodegradation studies in simulated body fluid. Results indicate that the scaffolds had comparable mechanical properties, which were: 13.69 ± 1.06 (CS/HAp), 12.82 ± 4.10 (CS/TCP-α), 13.87 ± 2.9 (CS/HAp/TCP-α), and 15.55 ± 0.56 (CS/FAp). Consequently, various benzophenone concentrations were added to CS/HAp formulations to determine their effect on the degradation rate. Based on the mechanical properties and degradation profile of CS/HAp, it was found that 5 µL of 0.1% (w/v) benzophenone resulted in the highest degradation rate at eight weeks (54.48% degraded), while maintaining compressive strength between (4.04 ± 1.49 to 10.17 ± 4.78 MPa) during degradation testing. These results indicate that incorporating bioceramics with a suitable photoinitiator concentration can tailor the biodegradability and load-bearing capacity of the scaffolds.