Preparation of polymer/calcium phosphate porous composite as bone tissue scaffolds

Composite scaffolds, especially polymer/calcium phosphate composite scaffolds with porous structures are promising materials for bone tissue engineering. Depositing minerals on the surface of polymer scaffolds is a general method however, attachment between inorganic minerals and organic polymeric is a big challenge, because of the absence of strong interactions between the interfaces. In this work, polymer/calcium phosphate composite scaffolds with good attachment were fabricated through introduction of calcium and alternate mineralization. Calcium methacrylate was polymerized into the polymer scaffold and calcium acted as “ion glue” endowing the polymer/calcium phosphate composite good interfacial interaction. After alternate mineralization, the surface of polymer scaffold with calcium was coated with plate-like minerals which attached to polymer well and composite scaffold preserved the porous morphology. The results demonstrated that the concept of “ion glue” provided an option for the improvement of attachment between inorganic minerals and organic polymer. The results also indicated that the good attachment of minerals with polymer scaffolds enhanced the mechanical properties and improved the cell attachment of the polymer scaffolds.