Porous ceramic bone scaffolds for vascularized bone tissue regeneration.
Hydroxyapatite scaffolds with a multi modal porosity designed for use in tissue engineering of vascularized bone graft substitutes were prepared by three dimensional printing. Depending on the ratio of coarse (mean particle size 50 microm) to fine powder (mean particle size 4 microm) in the powder granulate and the sintering temperature total porosity was varied from 30% to 64%. While macroscopic pore channels with a diameter of 1 mm were created by CAD design, porosity structure in the sintered solid phase was governed by the granulate structure of the printing powder. Scaffolds sintered at 1,250 degrees C were characterized by a bimodal pore structure with intragranular pores of 0.3-0.4 microm and intergranular pores of 20 microm whereas scaffolds sintered at 1,400 degrees C exhibit a monomodal porosity with a maximum of pore size distribution at 10-20 microm. For in-vivo testing, matrices were implanted subcutaneously in four male Lewis rats. Scaffolds with 50% porosity and an average pore size of approximately 18 microm were successfully transferred to rats and vascularized within 4 weeks.
Will
Julia
J
Department of Materials Science (Glass and Ceramics), University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstr. 5, 91058 Erlangen, Germany. Julia.will@ww.uni.-erlangen.de
Melcher
Reinhold
R
Treul
Cornelia
C
Travitzky
Nahum
N
Kneser
Ulrich
U
Polykandriotis
Elias
E
Horch
Raymund
R
Greil
Peter
P
D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000098:blood supply*; D002516:Ceramics; D008297:Male; D016062:Porosity; D011208:Powders; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew
D011208:Powders