Manufacture of degradable polymeric scaffolds for bone regeneration.
Many innovative technology platforms for promoting bone regeneration have been developed. A common theme among these is the use of scaffolds to provide mechanical support and osteoconduction. Scaffolds can be either ceramic or polymer-based, or composites of both classes of material. Both ceramics and polymers have their own merits and drawbacks, and a better solution may be to synergize the advantageous properties of both materials within composite scaffolds. In this current review, after a brief introduction of the anatomy and physiology of bone, different strategies of fabricating polymeric scaffolds for bone regeneration, including traditional and solid free-form fabrication, are critically discussed and compared, while focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of individual techniques.
Ge
Zigang
Z
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China. gez@pku.edu.cn
Jin
Zhaoxia
Z
Cao
Tong
T
D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D018786:Bone Substitutes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D016348:Osseointegration / Q000502:physiology*; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
D018786:Bone Substitutes