title: Synthesis of aligned porous poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite microspheres.
abstract: We synthesized poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite microspheres with an aligned porous structure and evaluated their potential applications in bone tissue engineering. A range of HA particles (0, 5, 10 and 20 wt.% in relation to the PCL polymer) were added to a PCL solution in order to improve the biocompatibility of the porous PCL/HA composite microspheres. All the synthesized microspheres showed that the HA particles were distributed well in the PCL matrix, while preserving their aligned porous structure. The average size of the PCL/HA composite microspheres increased from 62±7 to 179±95 μm with increasing HA content from 0 to 20 wt.%. The incorporation of the HA particles to the PCL polymer led to a considerable improvement in in vitro bioactivity, which was assessed by immersing the PCL/HA composite microspheres in simulated body fluid (SBF). A number of apatite crystals could be precipitated on the surface of the aligned porous PCL/HA composite microspheres after soaking in the SBF for 7 days.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Laboratory Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 136-703, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Mi-Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young-Hag
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Koh
mesh_terms: D001826:Body Fluids; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D003460:Crystallization; D017886:Durapatite / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D007477:Ions; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D010316:Particle Size; D011091:Polyesters / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D044366:Transition Temperature; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; D017886:Durapatite