Sonochemical processing and characterization of composite materials based on soy protein and alginate containing micron-sized bioactive glass particles

• Novel composite hydrogels based on alginate/soy/bioactive glass particles produced.
• Sonication treatment allows rapid formation of homogenous composite hydrogels.
• The use of bioactive glass particles leads to hydrogel bioactivity in simulated body fluid.

Novel composite hydrogels based on the combination of natural polymers; namely alginate and soy protein isolate, and bioactive glass (BG) particles (mean size: 2 μm) were developed. For this purpose a sonochemical approach was used and homogeneous composite hydrogels, incorporating two concentrations of BG particles, were successfully obtained. Further physico-chemical characterization was performed in order to evaluate the influence of each component on hydrogel properties. The water uptake ability, weight loss, protein release, as well as FTIR, SEM and DMTA characterization were carried out. The biomineralization process in simulated body fluid (SBF) was followed over time and the results demonstrated that the composite materials have the ability to form a surface apatite layer after 7 days in SBF. The design of novel composite hydrogels based on soy protein, alginate and BG can be a suitable approach for bone regeneration applications.

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