Biosilicate^®–gelatine bone scaffolds by the foam replica technique: development and characterization

Abstract

The development of bioactive glass-ceramic materials has been a topic of great interest aiming at enhancing the mechanical strength of traditional bioactive scaffolds. In the present study, we test and demonstrate the use of Biosilicate® glass-ceramic powder to fabricate bone scaffolds by the foam replica method. Scaffolds possessing the main requirements for use in bone tissue engineering (95% porosity, 200–500 μm pore size) were successfully produced. Gelatine coating was investigated as a simple approach to increase the mechanical competence of the scaffolds. The gelatine coating did not affect the interconnectivity of the pores and did not significantly affect the bioactivity of the Biosilicate® scaffold. The gelatine coating significantly improved the compressive strength (i.e. 0.80 ± 0.05 MPa of coated versus 0.06 ± 0.01 MPa of uncoated scaffolds) of the Biosilicate® scaffold. The combination of Biosilicate® glass-ceramic and gelatine is attractive for producing novel scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

Antibacterial 45S5 Bioglass®-based scaffolds reinforced with genipin cross-linked gelatin for bone tissue engineering

“…It is worth pointing out that the uncoated scaffolds were completely broken into little pieces during compressive strength test, while the GCG coated scaffolds were able to partly maintain their cuboid shape despite being compressed (Fig. The strengthening and toughening effects in the present study are in broad agreement with other studies about polymer coated scaffolds, 14,17,45,46 and they can be explained by the micron-scale crack-bridging mechanism. Taking into consideration the high porosity (93%) of the fabricated GCG coated scaffolds, the achieved compressive strength (1.04 MPa) is obviously higher than the lower bound of the values for human cancellous bone (40.15 MPa, porosity B90%).…”

“…Taking into consideration the high porosity (93%) of the fabricated GCG coated scaffolds, the achieved compressive strength (1.04 MPa) is obviously higher than the lower bound of the values for human cancellous bone (40.15 MPa, porosity B90%). 17 The different degrees of strengthening and toughening effects obtained from different polymer coatings are likely to be determined by the wettability of polymer solution on the scaffold struts and the adhesion ability of the obtained polymer coating on the scaffold struts. 14,18,45 In other words, the polymer coatings turn the original weak and brittle struts into strong and tough composite struts, thus significantly improving the mechanical stability of the flaw sensitive glass/ceramic struts.…”

“…17,18 However, gelatin, in its original state, dissolves/degrades rapidly in aqueous solution, 19,20 which may lead to the quick loss of its reinforcing effects on scaffolds. Gelatin, a water soluble natural polymer, has been shown to be able to considerably improve the mechanical properties of bioactive glass/ceramic scaffolds due to its strengthening and toughening effects which can be linked to a micron-scale crack-bridging mechanism.…”

History and trends of bioactive glass‐ceramics

“…On the other hand, relatively stronger scaffolds can be made from bioactive GCs that may be candidates for load‐bearing sites . Therefore, almost all commercial bioactive GCs and others being developed have been the subject of study for scaffold development using various fabrication techniques, including, for example, foam‐replication methods, salt or sugar leaching, thermally induced phase separation, microsphere emulsification sintering, electrospinning to form nanofibrous structures, computer‐assisted rapid prototyping techniques and so forth , . More recently, Fiocco et al and Elsayed et al have used novel approach based on the use of preceramic polymers to develop porous bioactive GCs.…”

“…85,86 Therefore, almost all commercial bioactive GCs and others being developed have been the subject of study for scaffold development using various fabrication techniques, including, for example, foamreplication methods, salt or sugar leaching, thermally induced phase separation, microsphere emulsification sintering, electrospinning to form nanofibrous structures, computer-assisted rapid prototyping techniques and so forth. 85,86,[90][91][92][93] More recently, Fiocco et al 94,95 and Elsayed et al 96 have used novel approach based on the use of preceramic polymers to develop porous bioactive GCs. GCs derive from thermal treatment of preceramic polymers, in the form of silicone resins, containing micro-and nanosized filler powders such as Ca/Mg-carbonate, Na-carbonate, Naphosphate or even glass particles.…”