Stiffness improvement of 45S5 bioglass®-based scaffolds through natural and synthetic biopolymer coatings: An ultrasonic study

Abstract

Due to its excellent bioactivity, 45S5 Bioglass® is being highly considered in tissue engineering scaffold development. In order to enhance vascularization promoting tissue growth, these scaffolds typically have a highly interconnected porous structure with a porosity between 80 and >90%. Often, Bioglass®-based scaffolds of such a high porosity have insufficient stiffness. In order to increase the stiffness of Bioglass®-based scaffolds fabricated by the foam replica method, the herein investigated scaffolds were coated with a number of different biopolymers, including: collagen, gelatin, polycaprolactone (PCL), alginate and poly(l-lactic acid). The resulting stiffness gain was quantified by means of ultrasonic measurements. Accordingly, PCL and collagen coatings increased the scaffold stiffness, as compared to uncoated scaffolds, by 58 and 38%, respectively; while no remarkable stiffness increase was recorded for the other coatings. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy images of polymer coated scaffolds revealed that PCL coatings had not clogged the scaffold's micropores, which is deemed essential for cell seeding and to enable in-growth of bone tissue. Thus, the application of PCL coatings represents a promising strategy for mechanical competence enhancement of Bioglass®-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Ltd.