The application of VP-ESEM in microstructure analysis of ceramic macroporous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Macroporous ceramic scaffolds are widely used in the therapy of bone defects. Adaptation of such materials inside the human body depends strongly on their microstructure, particularly on the size of pores and the degree of pore interconnections. In the presented research a novel macroporous ceramic was prepared by means of the polymer sponge method from mixtures of hydroxyapatite of porcine origin and 30 or 50 wt% of biocompatible and bioresorbable phosphate glass. The materials were sintered at 700, 800, and 900 °C and at 700 and 800 °C, respectively. A unique set of VP-ESEM micrographs of ceramics microstructure was recorded. Based on direct measurements taken on these images, histograms representing macropore size distribution and distribution of size of macropore interconnections were plotted for each sample. The obtained data was used to determine average macropore size and average size of macropore interconnections for each material. The average macropore size varied from 532 to 761 μm while the average size of macropore interconnections ranged from 145 to 369 μm.