Design Of Bone Scaffolds Research Articles

Development of hydroxyapatite/calcium silicate composites addressed to the design of load-bearing bone scaffolds

This work deals with the preparation of bioactive ceramic composites to be employed for the development of load-bearing bone substitutes, made of hydroxyapatite (Ca 10(PO 4) 6(OH) 2, HA) and bioactive dicalcium silicate (Ca 2SiO 4, C 2S) as a reinforcing phase. The composite materials were prepared by Fast Hot-Pressing (FHP), which allowed the rapid sintering of monolithic ceramics at temperatures up to 1500 ∘C, well above the commonly adopted temperatures for the consolidation of hydroxyapatite (1200–1300 ∘C). The purpose was to achieve the grain coalescence of both HA and the strengthening phase, so that to obtain a homogeneous ceramic material characterized by controlled phase composition and improved mechanical strength; the dwell time was reduced as much as possible to prevent HA decomposition and excessive grain growth. The most remarkable result, in terms of phase composition, was the absence of any secondary phases in the final ceramics other than HA and C 2S, even after sintering at 1500 ∘C. The flexure strength of the composite materials was found to be much higher than that of HA alone. Further mechanical characterization was also carried out on HA and composites, sintered in different conditions, to evaluate the elastic properties and fracture toughness, and properties close to those of mineral bone were found. These preliminary results confirmed that composites of HA and Ca 2SiO 4 are promising for the development of bioactive load-bearing ceramic bone substitutes with controlled phase composition.

Simulation of Bone Remodelling and Bone Ingrowth within Scaffolds

Bone Tissue Engineering is a fast growing interdisciplinary branch of research that aims to find adequate replacements or scaffolds for bone, in order to improve its ability to regenerate itself. The present work summarizes the most relevant functional properties of bone and its ability of adaptation, remarking the most crucial characteristics that these replacements must fulfill for appropriate bone regeneration, including the correct selection of the material and structure. The second part presents current trends in computational modeling of bone remodeling and bone ingrowth within scaffolds, with special emphasis on the description of two different mathematical approaches to model these biological regenerative events. We demonstrate that computational modeling is a useful tool for bone scaffold design that allows considering multiple factors some of them very difficult to evaluate experimentally.

Preparation and Design of Artificial Bone Scaffolds via a Three-Dimensional Gel-Lamination Process

Preparation and Design of Artificial Bone Scaffolds via a Three-Dimensional Gel-Lamination Process