A composite polytrimethylene carbonate microsphere-reinforced porous scaffold for osteoblast regeneration

Abstract

Simulations of the structural and microenvironments of cells and tissues have been driving development in biodegradable scaffolds. However, most scaffolds show poor attachment and proliferation. In this study, we developed a simple approach to promote the mechanical properties and biocompatibility associated with a biopolymer, polytrimethylene carbonate (PTMC), using oleic acid-modified tricalcium phosphate particles (OA-TCP), which osteoinductive the bone cells. The manipulating microsphere diameter can easily tune the mechanical properties and porosity of microsphere scaffold. In particular, we demonstrated that incorporating OA-TCP particles on PTMC/OA-TCP scaffolds increased the biocompatibility and mechanical properties (42 % porosity, compressive modulus of 217 MPa) compared with the PTMC/TCP scaffold control (42 % porosity, compressive modulus of 37 MPa). We also observed that increased weight loss and water absorption of PTMC/OA-TCP scaffold allowed better osteoblast proliferation. These data suggest that the modified strategy presented in this study is a promising alternative for potential multi-functional bone defects.