Porous three-dimensional scaffolds made of mineralised collagen: Preparation and properties of a biomimetic nanocomposite material for tissue engineering of bone

For healing of bone defects and as matrix for tissues engineering, porous scaffolds are required that can be easily pre-seeded with cells in the lab and invaded by tissue after implantation. We have developed porous 3D scaffolds consisting of mineralised collagen type I—a nanocomposite, which mimics the composition of extracellular matrix of healthy bone tissue. The steps of material processing as well as the physico-chemical, structural and mechanical properties of this biomaterial are described in detail. The technology of differential scanning calorimetry, which provides an excellent possibility to investigate collagen-based materials, was used to characterise the final scaffold and all its intermediates in situ. Furthermore, the interconnecting porosity of the scaffolds with pore diameters of about 200 μm has been shown to be highly suitable for homogenous cell seeding, demonstrated with human marrow stromal cells.