The fabrication of hydroxyapatite mineralized hydrogels for bone tissue engineering

Bone is a complex but orderly mineralized tissue with hydroxyapatite(HA)as the inorganic phase and collagen as the organic phase.Inspired by natural bone tissues,HA-mineralized hydrogels have been widely designed and used in bone tissue engineering.HA is majorly utilized for the treatment of bone defects because of its excellent osteoconduction and bone inductivity.Hydrogel is a three-dimensional hydrophilic network structure with similar properties to the extracellular matrix(ECM).The combination of HA and hydrogels produces a new hybrid material that could effectively promote osteointegration and accelerate the healing of bone defects.In this review,the structure and growth of bone and the common strategies used to prepare HA were briefly introduced.Importantly,we discussed the fabrication of HA mineralized hydrogels from simple blending to in situ mineralization.We hope this review can provide a reference for the development of bone repair hydrogels.