The physicochemical features of the avian eggshell membrane play an essential role in
the process of calcium carbonate deposition during shell mineralization, giving rise to a porous
mineralized tissue with remarkable mechanical properties and biological functions. The membrane
could be useful by itself or as a bi-dimensional scaffold to build future bone-regenerative materials.
This review focuses on the biological, physical, and mechanical properties of the eggshell membrane
that could be useful for that purpose. Due to its low cost and wide availability as a waste byproduct of
the egg processing industry, repurposing the eggshell membrane for bone bio-material manufacturing
fulfills the principles of a circular economy. In addition, eggshell membrane particles have has the
potential to be used as bio-ink for 3D printing of tailored implantable scaffolds. Herein, a literature
review was conducted to ascertain the degree to which the properties of the eggshell membrane
satisfy the requirements for the development of bone scaffolds. In principle, it is biocompatible and
non-cytotoxic, and induces proliferation and differentiation of different cell types. Moreover, when
implanted in animal models, it elicits a mild inflammatory response and displays characteristics
of stability and biodegradability. Furthermore, the eggshell membrane possesses a mechanical
viscoelastic behavior comparable to other collagen-based systems. Overall, the biological, physical,
and mechanical features of the eggshell membrane, which can be further tuned and improved, make
this natural polymer suitable as a basic component for developing new bone graft materialsinisterio de Ciencia de Innovación (MCINN) (Ministry
of Science and Innovation, Spain) project PGC2018-102047-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER/UE)Fundación
Mutua Madrileña, Grant/Award Number: FMM-AP17196-2019the Instituto de Salud Carlos
III, ERDF funds (DTS21/00098)the Consejería de Economía y Universidad, Junta de Andalucía
(PYC20 RE 015 UGR; P20_00208 of 2020)European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)–
Next Generation/EU program and grant AYUD/2022/33525 (FICYT)Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC, Discovery
program: RGPIN-2022-04803)PID2022-142886NB-I00 funded
by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe,” by the “European
Union.”The Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación (Ministry of Science, Technology, and
Innovation, Colombia) provided support for A.T-M´s participatio
