Modified cotton fiber surface for apatite growth and cell affinity

In order to bring widely distributed polysaccharides materials into more medical applications, cotton fiber surfaces were modified into substrates for apatite deposition. Using a solid phase reaction, cotton fibers were conveniently carboxylated in large scale. The carboxylated cotton fibers were coated by apatite in a biomimetic way. Through soaking in a concentrated simulated body fluid (SBF × 5), nano-size apatite particles rapidly and finely grew on the fiber surfaces. The nucleation and growth of apatite was investigated with the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In comparison to pure cotton, the cotton coated with apatite showed improved cell affinity to osteoblast-like cells.