Feasibility Study of Bioactive Hydrogel Coatings on Ti-6Al-4V Gyroid Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Titanium alloys are commonly used for bone replacement due to their excellent corrosion resistance. However, they can cause stress shielding due to their high stiffness. Consequently, porous titanium scaffolds can be designed to reduce the elastic mismatch with bone, and further hydrogel coatings can be applied to mimic the extracellular microenvironment. In this work, gyroid titanium scaffolds were coated with a bioactive alginate-gelatin hydrogel. The addition of 45S5 bioactive glass enhanced the mechanical properties of the hydrogel and its adhesion strength. Furthermore, the developed hydrogels allowed for the penetration of gyroid scaffolds, demonstrating the potential of bioactive coatings for titanium implants.