Mechanical properties and reliability of glass–ceramic foam scaffolds for bone repair

Abstract

The development of reliable, synthetic scaffolds to repair large defects in load-bearing bones is one of the key challenges of regenerative medicine of hard tissues. This study addresses the mechanical properties of experimental glass–ceramic scaffolds fabricated by sponge replication and exhibiting a bone-like 3-D trabecular architecture, as assessed by micro-computed tomography investigations. The scaffolds have a strength of 18MPa, an elastic modulus around 380MPa, a Weibull modulus of 4 and a fracture energy of 544kJm−3 when tested in compression. Such results were compared with and found similar or even superior to those reported in the literature for bioceramic scaffolds and human cancellous bone. These key mechanical data, together with the peculiar foam-like porous architecture, indicate the great potential of this type of scaffolds for use in load-bearing bone tissue engineering applications.