title: Scanning Small- and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering Microscopy Selectively Probes HA Content in Gelatin/Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds for Osteochondral Defect Repair.
abstract: This study is aimed at investigating the structure of a scaffold made of bovine gelatin and hydroxyapatite for bone tissue engineering purposes. In particular, the detailed characterization of such a material has a great relevance because of its application in the healing process of the osteochondral defect that consists of a damage of cartilage and injury of the adjacent subchondral bone, significantly compromising millions of patient's quality of life. Two different techniques exploiting X-ray radiation, with table-top setups, are used: microtomography (micro-CT) and microdiffraction. Micro-CT characterizes the microstructure in the three dimensions at the micrometer scale spatial resolution, whereas microdiffraction provides combined structural/morphological information at the atomic and nanoscale, in two dimensional microscopy images with a hundred micrometer spatial resolution. The combination of these two techniques allowed an appropriate structural characterization for the purpose of validating the engineering approach used for the realization of the hydroxyapatite gradient across the scaffold, with properties close to the natural model.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography (IC), National Research Council , Bari 70125, Italy.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Altamura
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography (IC), National Research Council , Bari 70125, Italy.
authors.forename: Stella G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Pastore
authors.affiliation: Institute of Polymers, Composites, and Biomaterials (IPCB), National Research Council , Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Raucci
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography (IC), National Research Council , Bari 70125, Italy.
authors.forename: Dritan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Siliqi
authors.affiliation: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) , Brindisi 72100, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Pascalis
authors.affiliation: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) , Brindisi 72100, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nacucchi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Polymers, Composites, and Biomaterials (IPCB), National Research Council , Naples, Italy.|Department of Chemical Sciences and Materials Technology (DSCTM), National Research Council , Rome 000133, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ambrosio
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crystallography (IC), National Research Council , Bari 70125, Italy.
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giannini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001861:Bone Regeneration; D002417:Cattle; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D010007:Osteochondritis / Q000628:therapy; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005780:Gelatin; D017886:Durapatite
keywords: SAXS microscopy; X-ray microdiffraction; gelatin; hydroxyapatite; micro-CT; osteochondral defect; scaffold; tissue engineering