Biguanidylated Chitosan Nanofiber Scaffold: A Green Approach to Promote Osteogenesis in Calvarial Bone Regeneration Publisher



Saber M¹ ; Shaabani A¹ ; Sedghi R¹ ; Motasadizadeh H² ; Salimiyan N¹ ; Gholami M¹ ; Nouri Z³ ; Motedayen M⁴ ; Dinarvand R^{4, 5, 6} ; Shahmahmoudi Z^{7, 8} ; Haramshahi SMA^{7, 8} Show Affiliations
Source: Carbohydrate Polymers Published:2025

Abstract

Developing advanced materials for calvarial bone defects is crucial due to the limitations of conventional scaffolds. Chitosan (CS) is biocompatible and promotes bone growth, but its poor water solubility and weak mechanical properties limit its effectiveness. This study introduces a green method to create water-soluble chitosan-based scaffolds to overcome these drawbacks while enhancing antibacterial activity. Biguanidylated chitosan (CSG) was synthesized and combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to fabricate a novel electrospun nanofiber scaffold (PCSG) using water as the solvent, with heat treatment improving its stability in aqueous environments without additional chemicals. Compared to conventional CS/PVA (PCS) scaffolds, PCSG showed superior properties. Notably, PCSG40 demonstrated a 2.07-fold increase in ultimate tensile strength, a 2.13-fold increase in elongation at break, and a 1.58-fold increase in compressive strength over PCS40. In vitro assays confirmed PCSG40's non-cytotoxicity towards human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) and revealed up to 25 % higher expression of osteogenic differentiation markers compared to PCS40. In vivo implantation in rat calvarial defects demonstrated that the PCSG40 scaffold promoted over 35 % more bone regeneration than PCS40. Additionally, it exhibited significant antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These findings highlight the promising potential of PCSG40 scaffold for calvarial bone tissue engineering. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd