Sol-Gel Derived Gelatin–Bioactive Glass Nanocomposite Biomaterials Incorporating Calcium Chloride and Calcium Ethoxide

Calcium-containing organic–inorganic nanocomposites play an essential role in developing bioactive bone biomaterials. Ideally, bone substitute materials should mimic the organic–inorganic composition of bone. In this study, the roles of calcium chloride (CaCl2) and calcium ethoxide (Ca(OEt)2) were evaluated for the development of sol-gel-derived organic–inorganic biomaterials composed of gelatin, bioactive glass (BG) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to create nanocomposites that mimic the elemental composition of bone. Nanocomposites composed of either CaCl2 or Ca(OEt)2 were chemically different but presented uniform elemental distribution. The role of calcium sources in the matrix of the nanocomposites played a major role in the swelling and degradation properties of biomaterials as a function of time, as well as the resulting porous properties of the nanocomposites. Regardless of the calcium source type, biomineralization in simulated body fluid and favorable cell attachment were promoted on the nanocomposites. 10T1/2 cell viability studies using standard media (DMEM with 5% FBS) and conditioned media showed that Ca(OEt)2-based nanocomposites seemed more favorable biomaterials. Collectively, our study demonstrated that CaCl2 and Ca(OEt)2 could be used to prepare sol-gel-derived gelatin–BG–MWCNT nanocomposites, which have the potential to function as bone biomaterials.