Optimization of compositional manipulation for hydroxyapatite modified with boron oxide and graphene oxide for medical applications

Bone tissue engineering is the most used technology in recent years for repairing damaged bones. A novel heterogeneous biomaterial is prepared and studied to be suggested as a promising bone substitute biomaterial, based on three different nanoparticles: hydroxyapatite (HAP), boron oxide (B2O3), and graphene oxide (GO) a triple nanocomposite is designed HAP/B2O3/GO. This hybrid scaffold is analyzed with XRD to examine the crystalline structure of HAP/B2O3/GO and shows its crystal planes. Moreover, the interaction between the three nanoparticles and their distinctive active functional groups is illustrated with FTIR analysis. Further, TEM micrographs demonstrate the structural alteration and the uniform incorporation of HAP and B2O3 into GO sheets with an average length of 30 nm and diameter of 6 nm for HAP, and a size of 8 mm for B2O3. Furthermore, SEM micrographs reveal the porous structure of HAP/B2O3/GO with a grain size of 5e10 nm. The maximum roughness average value is obtained by HAP/B2O3/GO which is 11.04 nm. Besides, HAP/ B2O3/GO nanocomposite shows the highest cell viability value of 96.1 ± 1.2%. The bacterial toxicity of HAP/B2O3/GO is confirmed with the obtained inhibition zone against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus of 15.7 ± 1.1 mm and 16.2 ± 0.8 mm respectively. In addition, the hardness of the triple composite is improved showing a maximum value of 3.7 ± 0.3 GPa. Distinctly, the addition of B2O3 to HAP and GO nanosheets alter the morphological properties and enhances the roughness parameters of HAP/B2O3/GO. Besides, HAP/B2O3/GO shows improved porosity, cell viability, and biodegradability. Hence, studying HAP/B2O3/GO nanocomposite with different scans and analyses reveals its porous integrated structure and shows an excellent antibacterial property, so that HAP/B2O3/GO composite can be suggested as a promising bone substitute biomaterial.