Abstract
AbstractPorosity is known to play a pivotal role in dictating the functional properties of biomedical scaffolds, with special reference to mechanical performance. While compressive strength is relatively easy to be experimentally assessed even for brittle ceramic and glass foams, elastic properties are much more difficult to be reliably estimated. Therefore, describing and, hence, predicting the relationship between porosity and elastic properties based only on the constitutive parameters of the solid material is still a challenge. In this work, we quantitatively compare the predictive capability of a set of different models in describing, over a wide range of porosity, the elastic modulus (7 models), shear modulus (3 models) and Poisson’s ratio (7 models) of bioactive silicate glass-derived scaffolds produced by foam replication. For these types of biomedical materials, the porosity dependence of elastic and shear moduli follows a second-order power-law approximation, whereas the relationship between porosity and Poisson’s ratio is well fitted by a linear equation.
Highlights
When tissue regeneration is a goal, implantable biomaterials are often designed as porous scaffolds that serve as three-dimensional (3D) templates to support and guide the healing of healthy tissue at the injured site [1]
We quantitatively compare the predictive capability of a set of different models in describing, over a wide range of porosity, the elastic modulus (7 models), shear modulus (3 models) and Poisson’s ratio (7 models) of bioactive silicate glass-derived scaffolds produced by foam replication
The first set of data comprised the elastic modulus, shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio of 45S5 Bioglass -based glass-ceramic scaffolds with porosity within 52-86 vol.%; these mechanical properties were non-destructively assessed by the impulse excitation technique (GrindoSonic system) [16]
Summary
When tissue regeneration is a goal, implantable biomaterials are often designed as porous scaffolds that serve as three-dimensional (3D) templates to support and guide the healing of healthy tissue at the injured site [1]. Microstructure and porosity dictate the mechanical properties of the scaffold, such as strength and elastic modulus. While the compressive strength of bioactive glass scaffolds is relatively easy to assess and, to correlate with porosity, the Young’s modulus and other elastic properties are much more difficult to determine without a proper equipment; in general, this is a common problem for brittle, highly-porous ceramics. The knowledge of the elastic modulus, is key to determine the biomechanical success of an implantable biomaterial as a good stiffness match between scaffold and host tissue allows favorable stress transfer, thereby yielding stable interfacial bonding and osteointegration [11]
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