Composite Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Biomaterial and scaffold development underpins the advancement of tissue engineering. Traditional scaffolds based on biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactic acid) and poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) are weak and non-osteoconductive. For bone tissue engineering, polymer-based composite scaffolds containing bioceramics such as hydroxyapatite can be produced and used. The bioceramics can be either incorporated in the scaffolds as a dispersed secondary phase or form a thin coating on the pore surface of polymer scaffolds. This bioceramic phase renders the scaffolds bioactive and also strengthens the scaffolds. There are a number of methods that can be used to produce bioceramic-polymer composite scaffolds. This paper gives an overview of our efforts in developing composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.