title: Uniform tricalcium phosphate beads with an open porous structure for tissue engineering.
abstract: Uniform tricalcium phosphate (TCP) porous beads with micro and macro pore sizes were fabricated using a simple fluidic device. For micro-porous TCP beads, an aqueous gelatin mixture containing TCP powder was introduced as the discontinuous phase into the fluidic device, where a toluene phase served as the continuous phase. The resulting aqueous TCP droplets were instantly frozen at -20°C and freeze-dried, followed by calcination at 1200°C. An oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) emulsion templating method was employed to fabricate macro-porous TCP beads. An oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion was introduced into the fluidic device as the discontinuous phase with all other experimental conditions the same as for the micro-porous TCP beads. Uniform macro-porous TCP beads with a highly porous structure were finally obtained after freeze-drying and calcination. Large pore size and good interconnectivity of the macro-porous TCP beads were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and porosimetry. In addition, penetration of host tissue into the macro-pores of the TCP beads was demonstrated by subcutaneously implanting the two types of porous TCP beads into mice and histologically analyzing stained sections at 1-4 weeks post implantation. The macro-porous TCP beads with a highly open porous structure could potentially be used as an injectable material for bone tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, The Catholic University of Korea, 43 Jibong-ro Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do 420-743, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae-Kyung
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Myeong-Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Seung-Kwan
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Dong-Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.forename: Sung-Eun
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong-Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sung-Wook
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D018786:Bone Substitutes / Q000737:chemistry*; D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D004655:Emulsions; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D016062:Porosity; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D002130:Calcium Phosphates; D004655:Emulsions; C018392:tricalcium phosphate
keywords: Porous structure; Tissue engineering; Tissue penetration; Tricalcium phosphate