title: Micro-CT studies on 3-D bioactive glass-ceramic scaffolds for bone regeneration.
abstract: The aim of this study was the preparation and characterization of bioactive glass-ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. For this purpose, a glass belonging to the system SiO2-P2O5-CaO-MgO-Na2O-K2O (CEL2) was used. The sponge-replication method was adopted to prepare the scaffolds; specifically, a polymeric skeleton was impregnated with a slurry containing CEL2 powder, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a binding agent and distilled water. The impregnated sponge was then thermally treated to remove the polymeric phase and to sinter the inorganic one. The obtained scaffolds possessed an open and interconnected porosity, analogous to cancellous bone texture, and with a mechanical strength above 2 MPa. Moreover, the scaffolds underwent partial bioresorption due to ion-leaching phenomena. This feature was investigated by X-ray computed microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). Micro-CT is a three-dimensional (3-D) radiographic imaging technique, able to achieve a spatial resolution close to 1 microm(3). The use of synchrotron radiation allows the selected photon energy to be tuned to optimize the contrast among the different phases in the investigated samples. The 3-D scaffolds were soaked in a simulated body fluid (SBF) to study the formation of hydroxyapatite microcrystals on the scaffold struts and on the internal pore walls. The 3-D scaffolds were also soaked in a buffer solution (Tris-HCl) for different times to assess the scaffold bioresorption according to the ISO standard. A gradual resorption of the pores walls was observed during the soakings both in SBF and in Tris-HCl.
authors.affiliation: Department SAIFET-Section of Physical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 1, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Renghini
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Komlev
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fiori
authors.forename: Enrica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Verné
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baino
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vitale-Brovarone
mesh_terms: D001861:Bone Regeneration; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D005615:Freezing; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D016062:Porosity; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography