Macroporous Biphasic Calcium Phosphate Scaffolds Reinforced by Poly-L-lactic acid/Hydroxyapatite Nanocomposite Coatings for Bone Regeneration Biochemical Engineering Journal
Three-dimensional
(3D) interconnected porous scaffolds with biomimetic hierarchical architectures
and mechanical characteristics are critical for the success of bone
regeneration. In this paper, biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffolds were
coated with medical-grade poly-L-lactic acid/hydroxyapatite
(mPLLA/HA) nanocomposites to create controlled surface roughness while
remaining the interconnected porous structures. Such mPLLA/HA coatings
substantially improved the compressive strength of the scaffolds to 3.17 - 3.95 MPa, in
contrast to 0.31 MPa for the as-prepared bare porous BCP scaffolds. Moreover, these
mPLLA/HA-coated porous scaffolds were demonstrated to provide excellent support to the growth
and proliferation of human barrow mysenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). The
hBMSCs-seeded mPLLA/HA-coated scaffolds were implanted to large necrotic
lesions in the rabbit femoral head. New bone tissues were observed after two
months, followed by gradient new bone formation over months according to H&E
and Masson staining analysis. These results suggest that the mPLLA/HA-coated BCP
scaffolds with improved mechanical strength
and osteogenesis may be applied for bone regeneration.