Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) collagen scaffolds potential in alveolar bone regeneration

Background: Collagen scaffold is one of the most important parts of bone engineering especially for the alveolar bone regeneration. Jellyfish Aurelia aurita is one of the marine animals with the most potential for the development of collagen scaffold due to its high content of collagen and amino acid. This research aimed to evaluate the potential of jellyfish A. aurita collagen scaffold as a supporter for alveolar bone regeneration. Methods: Collagen was extracted from jellyfish by sonication method while scaffold was prepared by freeze-drying method, and chemical cross-linking with N-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl)-N’-ethyl-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). Scaffold was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) spectroscopy, Fourier Transformed Infra-Red (FTIR), Cytotoxicity test with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), and biodegradability test. Results: The scaffold has a porous surface with a slightly rough texture and it has pores with size 159.9mm – 325.6mm. Carbon and oxygen are the highest elements in the scaffold. Based on FTIR results, the collagen scaffold with EDC has a lower infrared absorption rate compared to collagen scaffold without EDC. The result in cytotoxicity test showed that collagen scaffold that had been combined with EDC was not toxic to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and even able to increase the cells growth. The scaffold with EDC has been degraded slower compared to the scaffold without EDC. Conclusion: The collagen scaffold is appropriate with the requirements as the biomaterial in supporting the alveolar bone regeneration, by fulfilling the following criteria, such as biocompatible, biodegradable, ideal porous interconnection, non-toxic, and cell viability support.