Injectable composites via functionalization of 1D nanoclays and biodegradable coupling with a polysaccharide hydrogel

• Biodegradable polymers and clay nanotubes: a new material for tissue engineering.
• Structural and rheological properties of the composite driven by chemical design.
• Nanotubular fillers are effective rheo-modifiers in injectable composites.
• Injectability of composites crucial to their use in mini-invasive surgery.

The use of injectable materials in minimally invasive surgical procedures could help in facing the bone diseases connected to the ageing of world population. To this aim, materials integrating the rheological properties of biocompatible polymers with the mechanical properties of 1D inorganic nanostructures represent promising scaffolds. Here we describe the preparation of hydrogel composites made of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and halloysite nanotubes (HNT) as injectable materials for the local treatment of bone defects. The rheology and injectability of the materials reflects their structural properties, showing the possibility of successfully injecting the prepared composites over a large range of operative conditions.

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