TY - JOUR
T1 - Pre-mineralisation of starch/polycrapolactone bone tissue engineering scaffolds by a calcium-silicate-based process
AU - Oliveira, A. L.
AU - Reis, R. L.
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge the financial assistance of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Ph.D. grant to A. L. Oliveira SFRH/BD/10956/2002 under the POCTI programme). This work was partially supported by FCT Foundation for Science and Technology, through funds from the POCTI and/or FEDER programmes.
PY - 2004/4
Y1 - 2004/4
N2 - This work describes a new methodology to produce bioactive coatings on the surface of starch-based biodegradable polymers or other degradable polymeric biomaterials. As an alternative to the more typical bioactive glass precursors, a calcium silicate gel is being employed as a nucleating agent, for inducing the biomimetic formation of a calcium-phosphate (Ca-P) layer. The method has the advantage of being able to coat efficiently both compact materials and porous 3-D architectures aimed at being used on tissue replacement applications and as bone tissue engineering scaffolds. This treatment is also very effective in reducing the incubation periods, being possible to observe the formation of an apatite-like layer, only after 12 h of immersion in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The apatite coatings formed on the compact surfaces or along the fibres of a fibre mesh scaffold structure made from a starch/polycrapolactone blend (SPCL) were analysed and compared in terms of morphology, chemical composition and structure. After the first days of SBF immersion, the apatite-like films exhibit the typical cauliflower like morphology. With increasing immersion times, these films exhibited a partially amorphous nature and the Ca/P ratios became very closer to the value attributed to hydroxyapatite (1.67). It was possible to fully pre-mineralise the SPCL scaffolds and simultaneously to keep the porous morphology of the fibre-bonded scaffold.
AB - This work describes a new methodology to produce bioactive coatings on the surface of starch-based biodegradable polymers or other degradable polymeric biomaterials. As an alternative to the more typical bioactive glass precursors, a calcium silicate gel is being employed as a nucleating agent, for inducing the biomimetic formation of a calcium-phosphate (Ca-P) layer. The method has the advantage of being able to coat efficiently both compact materials and porous 3-D architectures aimed at being used on tissue replacement applications and as bone tissue engineering scaffolds. This treatment is also very effective in reducing the incubation periods, being possible to observe the formation of an apatite-like layer, only after 12 h of immersion in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The apatite coatings formed on the compact surfaces or along the fibres of a fibre mesh scaffold structure made from a starch/polycrapolactone blend (SPCL) were analysed and compared in terms of morphology, chemical composition and structure. After the first days of SBF immersion, the apatite-like films exhibit the typical cauliflower like morphology. With increasing immersion times, these films exhibited a partially amorphous nature and the Ca/P ratios became very closer to the value attributed to hydroxyapatite (1.67). It was possible to fully pre-mineralise the SPCL scaffolds and simultaneously to keep the porous morphology of the fibre-bonded scaffold.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=3543015565&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1023/B:JMSM.0000021134.34651.d3
DO - 10.1023/B:JMSM.0000021134.34651.d3
M3 - Article
C2 - 15332631
AN - SCOPUS:3543015565
SN - 0957-4530
VL - 15
SP - 533
EP - 540
JO - Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine
JF - Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine
IS - 4
ER -