The Characterization of Bario Rice Starch-nanoHA Scaffolds using SEM and Dielectric Measurement

Abstract

Bone tissue scaffold had been ventured for over the decades as a solution for bone failure and trauma. Starch is the most common natural polymer that has been used as a biomaterials and a good candidate for scaffold fabrication as there are many resources of starch in Malaysia. Native starches may contribute differently in their structure in terms of the amylose content, interactions between granules, swelling ability and solubility in which those differences can be mainly due to the botanical origin. In Malaysia, there are various resources of rice starches. Here, the Bario rice starch from Sarawak was used to fabricate the scaffold via solvent casting and salt leaching technique. Bario rice is usually collected from various sources and variety which may contribute to different physical affect in comparison of using other type of rice. From the study, the morphologies and microstructures of the scaffold were evaluated using Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) and this showed no trend of pore size increment when starch percentage varied. Then, the dielectric properties were obtained via the values of dielectric constant and dielectric loss which are another type of indirect measurement to study the porosity of the scaffolds. The porosity has the value of the dielectric constant and the loss air matrix whereby this air matrix is represented by the pore in the scaffold. Here, the results were consistent with the observation made through SEM. Thus, the relationship between the porosity and the dielectric properties of the Bario Rice Starch-nHA tissue scaffolds had been established and there were no particular pattern could be concluded by using Bario rice for this scaffold.