Cuttlefish-Bone-Derived Biomaterials in Regenerative Medicine, Dentistry, and Tissue Engineering: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Marine ecosystems, covering 70% of Earth's surface, hold immense biodiversity and potential for biomaterials. Cuttlefish bone (CB) and marine resources have gained attention as eco-friendly biomaterials.

OBJECTIVES

We aim to comprehensively study biomedical applications of CB-derived materials. By evaluating both in vivo and in vitro investigations, the review seeks to uncover the diverse potential of CB in the biomedical field.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of electronic databases yielded 51 articles from 2408 studies. These studies encompassed in vivo animal studies and in vitro investigations.

RESULTS

In vivo studies employed for bone repair, dorsal subcutaneous defects, thermal wound healing, muscle injections, and avian blood testing. In vitro studies focused on HAp synthesis, scaffold development, dental material enhancement, and antimicrobial properties. Risk of bias assessments revealed varying degrees of methodological quality in both animal and in vitro studies, underscoring the need for standardised reporting and rigorous study design in future research.

CONCLUSIONS

This review fills a gap in the literature by providing a comprehensive overview of the applications of CB-derived materials in the biomedical field. Additionally, it offers valuable insights for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers interested in sustainable and effective biomaterials for diverse medical purposes, advancing the fields of regenerative medicine and dentistry.

Biomimetic Use of Food-Waste Sources of Calcium Carbonate and Phosphate for Sustainable Materials-A Review

Natural and renewable sources of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), also referred to as "biogenic" sources, are being increasingly investigated, as they are generated from a number of waste sources, in particular those from the food industry. The first and obvious application of biogenic calcium carbonate is in the production of cement, where CaCO3 represents the raw material for clinker. Overtime, other more added-value applications have been developed in the filling and modification of the properties of polymer composites, or in the development of biomaterials, where it is possible to transform calcium carbonate into calcium phosphate for the substitution of natural hydroxyapatite. In the majority of cases, the biological structure that is used for obtaining calcium carbonate is reduced to a powder, in which instance the granulometry distribution and the shape of the fragments represent a factor capable of influencing the effect of addition. As a result of this consideration, a number of studies also reflect on the specific characteristics of the different sources of the calcium carbonate obtained, while also referring to the species-dependent biological self-assembly process, which can be defined as a more "biomimetic" approach. In particular, a number of case studies are investigated in more depth, more specifically those involving snail shells, clam shells, mussel shells, oyster shells, eggshells, and cuttlefish bones.

A sustainable one-pot method to transform seashell waste calcium carbonate to osteoinductive hydroxyapatite micro-nanoparticles

We have developed a straightforward, one-pot, low-temperature hydrothermal method to transform oyster shell waste particles (bCCP) from the species Crassostrea gigas (Mg-calcite, 5 wt% Mg) into hydroxyapatite (HA) micro/nanoparticles. The influence of the P reagents (H3PO4, KH2PO4, and K2HPO4), P/bCCP molar ratios (0.24, 0.6, and 0.96), digestion temperatures (25-200 °C), and digestion times (1 week-2 months) on the transformation process was thoroughly investigated. At 1 week, the minimum temperature to yield the full transformation significantly reduced from 160 °C to 120 °C when using K2HPO4 instead of KH2PO4 at a P/bCCP ratio of 0.6, and even to 80 °C at a P/bCCP ratio of 0.96. The transformation took place via a dissolution-reprecipitation mechanism driven by the favorable balance between HA precipitation and bCCP dissolution, due to the lower solubility product of HA than that of calcite at any of the tested temperatures. Both the bCCP and the derived HA particles were cytocompatible for MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells and m17.ASC murine mesenchymal stem cells, and additionally, they promoted the osteogenic differentiation of m17.ASC, especially the HA particles. Because of their physicochemical features and biological compatibility, both particles could be useful osteoinductive platforms for translational applications in bone tissue engineering.

Surgical cotton microfibers loaded with proteins and apatite: A potential platform for bone tissue engineering

Tissue engineering has emerged as the best alternative to replacing damaged tissue/organs. However, the cost of scaffold materials continues to be a significant obstacle; thus, developing inexpensive scaffolds is strongly encouraged. In this study, cellulose microfibers (C), gelatin (G), egg white (EW), and nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) were assembled into a quaternary scaffold using EDC-NHS crosslinking, followed by freeze-drying method. Cellulose microfibers as a scaffold have only received a limited amount of research due to the absence of an intrinsic three-dimensional structure. Gelatin, more likely to interact chemically with collagen, was used to provide a stable structure to the cellulose microfibers. EW was supposed to provide the scaffold with numerous cell attachment sites. nHA was chosen to enhance the scaffold's bone-bonding properties. Physico-chemical, mechanical, and biological characterization of scaffolds were studied. In-vitro using MG-63 cells and in-ovo studies revealed that all scaffolds were biocompatible. The results of the DPPH assay demonstrate the ability of CGEWnHA to reduce free radicals. The CGEWnHA scaffold exhibits the best properties with 56.84 ± 28.45 μm average pore size, 75 ± 1.4 % porosity, 39.23 % weight loss, 109.19 ± 0.98 kPa compressive modulus, and 1.72 Ca/P ratio. As a result, the constructed CGEWnHA scaffold appears to be a viable choice for BTE applications.

Phosphate ion removal from aqueous solution using snail shell dust: biosorption potential of waste shells of edible snails

The freshwater snails, Filopaludina bengalensis and Pila globosa are widely used for human consumption and as a feed in aquaculture in India and Bangladesh. The generation of shells as a waste product following meat extraction from the live snails incites their utilisation as a potential biomaterial. Shell dust was prepared from the dried shells of F. bengalensis (FSD) and P. globosa (PSD) and employed for phosphate adsorption from aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to examine the effects of various experimental conditions, such as biosorbent dose, agitation speed, temperature, contact time, pH, initial concentration of phosphate ions, and presence of co-existing ions. SEM, EDS, ICP-OES, FTIR, and XRD results indicated that phosphate ions were adsorbed onto the surface of shell dust particles. The experimental data fitted with the Langmuir isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 62.50 and 66.66 mg g^-1 for FSD and PSD. The pseudo-second order kinetic model was well fitted, indicating the chemical adsorption process, and the thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption mechanism of phosphate was spontaneous, feasible, and endothermic. Therefore, the results have established the potentiality of the waste shells of edible snails to be used as an eco-friendly and low-cost biosorbent for phosphate removal from wastewater.

Green Synthesis of Antibacterial Nanocomposite of Silver Nanoparticle-Doped Hydroxyapatite Utilizing Curcuma longa Leaf Extract and Land Snail (Achatina fulica) Shell Waste

Preparation of green synthesized silver nanoparticle (AgNPs)-doped hydroxyapatite (Ag/HA) utilizing Curcuma longa leaf extract and land snail (Achatina fulica) shell waste was performed. Physicochemical characteristics and antibacterial activity of Ag/HA composite as a function of Ag content was studied. Instrumental analysis such as XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, and XPS were employed to characterize the nanocomposites. The physicochemical study revealed the maintained porous structure of HA after Ag immobilization, and from TEM analyses, it was found that the distributed spherical particles are associated with the dispersed Ag and have a particle diameter of around 5-25 nm. Antibacterial activity of the nanocomposite was evaluated against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Kliebsiella, pneumonia, and Streptococcus pyogenes. The results showed that the varied Ag content (1.0; 1.6; and 2.4% wt) influenced the nanoparticle distribution in the nanocomposite and enhanced the antibacterial feature.

Biogenic preparation of biphasic calcium phosphate powder from natural source of snail shells: bioactivity study

In this present work, carbonated apatite powder (CAP) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) were prepared from waste snail shells via thermal decomposition followed by chemical precipitation method with phosphoric acid in a one step process. The CAP produced was thereafter reacted with a pore forming agent solution of ammonium bicarbonate to formed carbonated apatite powder- ammonium bicarbonate scaffold composites (CAP-AMB) and was deployed in a bioactivity experiment with simulated body fluid (SBF) media. The phase purity, crystallinity, particle size, thermal behaviour, elemental composition, morphology as well as the functional groups of snail shells, synthesized CAP and CAP-AMB scaffold were assessed by XRD, FE-SEM, TGA, EDX, TEM and FT-IR. XRD and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) results confirmed the synthesized apatite as pure amorphous powder which upon heat treatment, transformed to polycrystalline powder. Analysis of FT-IR results revealed that the apatite produced from snail shells (SS) contains phosphates and hydroxyl functional groups. Furthermore, the formation of carbonated apatite was also confirmed from the FT-IR result with peaks which appeared at 882 and 1484 cm−1 respectively, thus depicting a B-type apatite. Microscopy analyses by FE-SEM and TEM indicated that the prepared apatite is composed of different morphologies in the range of 5 to 200 nm long. The presence of trace elements such as K, C, Na, Mg and Mg which could play crucial functions in biological applications were detected by EDX measurement alongside Ca and P. The mixture of CAP with AMB produced interconnected pores structure with porosity in the range of 35–67%. The bioactivity study of the SBF treated CAP-AMB composite confirmed apatite formation on the scaffold surface which totally covered the pores after seven days of incubation. Thus, waste biomaterial of snail shells origin can be use for the production of pure apatite that could be useful in medical application.

Graphical abstract

Synthesis of Natural Nano-Hydroxyapatite from Snail Shells and Its Biological Activity: Antimicrobial, Antibiofilm, and Biocompatibility

Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAn) have been produced as biomaterial from biowaste, especially snail shells (Atactodea glabrata). It is critical to recycle the waste product in a biomedical application to overcome antibiotic resistance as well as biocompatibility with normal tissues. Moreover, EDX, TEM, and FT-IR analyses have been used to characterize snail shells and HAn. The particle size of HAn is about 15.22 nm. Furthermore, higher inhibitory activity was observed from HAn than the reference compounds against all tested organisms. The synthesized HAn has shown the lowest MIC values of about 7.8, 0.97, 3.9, 0.97, and 25 µg/mL for S. aureus, B. subtilis, K. pneumonia, C. albicans, and E. coli, respectively. In addition, the HAn displayed potent antibiofilm against S. aureus and B. subtilis. According to the MTT, snail shell and HAn had a minor influence on the viability of HFS-4 cells. Consequently, it could be concluded that some components of waste, such as snail shells, have economic value and can be recycled as a source of CaO to produce HAn, which is a promising candidate material for biomedical applications.

Synthesis and Characterization of Calcium Phosphate Materials Derived from Eggshells from Different Poultry with and without the Eggshell Membrane

Calcium phosphate materials such as hydroxyapatite (HA) or tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) are highly attractive due to their multitude of applications in bone replacement as well as their environmental and ecological credentials. In this research, quail, hen, duck, and pigeon eggshells were used as a calcium source to obtain calcium phosphate materials via the environmentally friendly wet synthesis. Using the eggshells with the organic membrane, the biphasic calcium phosphate materials composed mainly of HA were obtained. The second mineral phase was β-TCP in the case of using quail, hen, and pigeon eggshells and octacalcium phosphate (OCP) in the case of duck eggshells. The HA content in the obtained materials depended on the amount of membrane in the eggshells and decreased in the order of pigeon, duck, hen, and quail eggshells. The eggshell membrane removal from the eggshells caused the reduced content of HA and the presence of the more soluble β-TCP or OCP phase in the obtained materials. The calcium ions release profile in the PBS buffer indicates the potential biomedical application of these materials.

Synthesis of Spinel-Hydroxyapatite Composite Utilizing Bovine Bone and Beverage Can

Spinel-based hydroxyapatite composite (SHC) has been synthesized utilizing bovine bones as the source of the hydroxyapatite (HAp) and beverage cans as the aluminum (Al) source. The bovine bones were defatted and calcined in the air atmosphere to transform them into hydroxyapatite. The beverage cans were cut and milled to obtain fine Al powder and then sieved to obtain three different particle mesh size fractions: +100#, −140# + 170#, and −170#, or Al particle size of >150, 90–150, and <90 µm, respectively. The SHC was synthesized using the self-propagating intermediate-temperature synthesis (SIS) method at 900 °C for 2 h with (HAp:Al:Mg) ratio of (87:10:3 wt.%) and various compaction pressure of 100, 171, and 200 MPa. It was found that the mechanical properties of the SHC are influenced by the Al particle size and the compaction pressure. Smaller particle size produces the tendency of increasing the hardness and reducing the porosity of the composite. Meanwhile, increasing compaction pressure produces a reduction of the SHC porosity. The increase in the hardness is also observed by increasing the compaction pressure except for the smallest Al particle size (<90 µm), where the hardness instead becomes smaller.

The Characterization of Bovine Bone-Derived Hydroxyapatite Isolated Using Novel Non-Hazardous Method

Bovine bone is a considerable source for the production of hydroxyapatite. The recent study reported a novel method to extract hydroxyapatite from bovine bone without producing hazardous residue. The bovine bones were cut and boiled in the opened chamber followed by boiling in pressurized tank. The bones were then soaked into 95% ethanol. Calcination was then conducted in 800°C, 900°C and 1,000°C, for 2 hours. The result was then grinded and sieved. The powder then was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) to measure the purity of hydroxyapatite. It is concluded that the hydroxyapatite derived from this process showed 100% purity, resulting 35.34 ± 0.39% w/w from the wet bone weight and 72.3% w/w from the dried weight. The present extraction method has been proven to yield high amount of pure hydroxyapatite as well as reducing the use of hazardous reagent.

Facile biogenic fabrication of hydroxyapatite nanorods using cuttlefish bone and their bactericidal and biocompatibility study

Cuttlefish bones are an inexpensive source of calcium carbonate, which are produced in large amounts by the marine food industry, leading to environmental contamination and waste. The nontoxicity, worldwide availability and low production cost of cuttlefish bone products makes them an excellent calcium carbonate precursor for the fabrication of hydroxyapatite. In the present study, a novel oil-bath-mediated precipitation method was introduced for the synthesis of hydroxyapatite (Hap) nanorods using cuttlefish bone powder as a precursor (CB-Hap NRs). The obtained CB-Hap NRs were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques to evaluate their physicochemical properties. The crystallite size (20.86 nm) obtained from XRD data and the elemental analysis (Ca/P molar ratio was estimated to be 1.6) showed that the Hap NRs are similar to that of natural human bone (≈1.67). Moreover, the FTIR data confirmed the presence of phosphate as a functional group and the TGA data revealed the thermal stability of Hap NRs. In addition, the antibacterial study showed a significant inhibitory effect of CB-Hap NRs against S. aureus (zone of inhibition - 14.5 ± 0.5 mm) and E. coli (13 ± 0.5 mm), whereas the blood compatibility test showed that the CB-Hap NRs exhibited a concentration-mediated hemolytic effect. These biogenic CB-Hap NRs with improved physicochemical properties, blood compatibility and antibacterial efficacy could be highly beneficial for orthopedic applications in the future.

Nanosheet-assembled carbonated hydroxyapatite microspheres prepared by an EDTA-assisted hydrothermal homogeneous precipitation route

Well-defined carbonated hydroxyapatite microspheres assembled from nanosheets were synthesized by a Na₂EDTA-assisted hydrothermal homogeneous precipitation route.

Aqueous-phase catalytic hydroxylation of phenol with H2O2 by using a copper incorporated apatite nanocatalyst

Copper incorporated apatite (Cu-apatite) nanomaterial was prepared by a co-precipitation method. The obtained material was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, STEM) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The as-prepared Cu-apatite was used to catalyze phenol hydroxylation with hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant. The influencing parameters including reaction time, temperature, H2O2/phenol ratio and catalyst mass have been investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the Cu-apatite catalyst gave a phenol conversion of 64% with 95% selectivity to dihydroxybenzenes. More importantly, the results of catalyst recycling indicated that the same catalytic performance has been obtained after four cycles with a slight loss of activity and selectivity.

Preparation of polyetheretherketone composites with nanohydroxyapatite rods and carbon nanofibers having high strength, good biocompatibility and excellent thermal stability

The WST-1 assay shows that the PEEK/15 vol% nHA–1.9 vol% CNF hybrid composite has excellent biocompatibility.