Cell Evaluation on Alginate/Hydroxyapatite Block for Biomedical Application

Initial cell evaluation on alginate/hydroxyapatite block was investigated. Sodium alginate with 1, 3 and 5% concentration was obtained via neutral extraction of locally obtained brown seaweed, Sargassumpolycystum. Commercially available hydroxyapatite (HAp) powder was pressed uniaxially at 3 MPa to obtain the HAp block. The HAp block was then sintered at 900̊C. The sintered HAp block was then immersed in the sodium alginate solution at different concentration for 24 hours under vacuum condition. Morphological observations show that normal cell growth was observed on alginate/HAp blockafter post treatment for day 1 and 2. However, the cell starts to show some distinct morphological changes when compared to the control cells for day 5 and 7. Cell viability assay results shows that a consistent cell growth was obtained with HAp block incorporated with 3 and 5% sodium alginate. While HAp block without the incorporation of sodium alginate and HAp block incorporated with 1% sodium alginate concentration shows inconsistent cell growth. Initial cell evaluation results suggest that alginate/HAp block shows no toxicity on cell attachment and proliferation.