Polycaprolactone Scaffolds and Hydroxyapatite/Polycaprolactone Composite Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Scaffolds fabricated from biodegradable polymers and bioactive materials together with living cells are often used in tissue engineering. This paper reports the thermally induced phase separation technique (TIPS) for the formation of three-dimensional porous scaffolds based on biodegradable polymers for bone tissue engineering applications. For the production of tissue engineering scaffolds, poly(Caprolactone) (PCL) which is a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer was used. The effect of different parameters involved in the fabrication process was studied. In the TIPS process, HA nanoparticles were successfully incorporated in PCL scaffolds to make composite scaffolds, rendering the scaffolds osteoconductive. In the PCL polymer scaffold matrix, HA nanoparticles were found to be well discreted. It was observed that the porosity and pore sizes decreased with the incorporation of HA nanoparticles. The compressive mechanical properties increased in the HA/PCL composite scaffold. Freezing at –18 °C yielded better pore size distribution which was controlled by the polymer and solvent phase crystallization. The PCL scaffolds were systematically evaluated using various techniques. Scaffolds with high porosity, low density, pore sizes ranging from several microns to 200 microns and good compressive mechanical properties were obtained by optimizing the processing and material parameters. The characteristics of PCL and HA/PCL scaffolds investigated in the current study show promises for bone tissue regeneration.