Development of Nickel Doped Nano Hydroxyapatite as Proangiogenic Material for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Induction of angiogenesis within the artificial bone graft after implantation is of paramount importance in the field of bone tissue engineering. For this purpose, here, we are developing nickel ion doped nHAp which improves angiogenesis. nHAp doped with varying concentrations of nickel were prepared using wet chemical precipitation method using cationic surfactant (CTAB) as a template and the extent of doping was studied using EDAX. The prepared particles with ferret diameter of 15-17 nm (TEM analysis), showed almost similar surface area for all samples (using BET analysis) but there was an increase in surface charge observed as the doping increases (ZETA potential). Crystalline nature of doped hydroxyapatite particles were studied using XRD and FTIR. Detailed analysis relevant to the bone cells (Mg-63) proliferation and differentiation showed that doping of nickel to hydroxyapatite supports cell growth and proliferation (MTT, live dead assay and cell cycle analysis) and also differentiation of these cells which were analysed using in vitro Runx2 expression and bone nodule formation by SEM study. VEGF expression by ELISA and HIF-1a expression studies revealed that doping of nickel greatly supports angiogenesis. This confirms that nickel ion doped hydroxyapatite improves angiogenesis along with osteogenesis pinpointing its potential in bone tissue engineering application