Fabrication of Nanostructured Apatite Scaffolds by Freeze-Casting Method for Bone Tissue Engineering

The presence of macropores in the scaffolds, in addition to increasing the rate of adsorption, provides a structure for the growth of osteoblasts and promote the formation of new bone with a complete and uniform structure. In this study, calcium phosphate powder was prepared by mixing tetra calcium phosphate and dicalcium phosphate dihydrated. To achieve stable suspension cement powder was mixed with deionized water at powder to liquid ratio of 0.5 g/mL and 3 wt % of dispersant factor, dolapix, and 4 wt % of polyvinyl alcohol were added to suspension. Scaffolds were prepared by freeze-casting method. The average particle size of cement powder was estimated to be 5.45 μm. SEM micrographs indicate that created pores in the structure are in the range of 100-300 μm. Nanostructure apatite is formed on the wall of pores after soaking in SBF. Compressive strength of samples was measured between 1.2 to 2.2 MPa. Cell numbers on the surface of the samples are tripled over time.