Cytocompatibility and osteogenesis evaluation of HA/GCPU composite as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Porous scaffolds for bone repair were prepared from newly designed segmented aliphatic polyurethane based on glyceride of castor oil and isophorone diisocyanate. To promote the scaffolds' biological and mechanical properties, hydroxyapatite powder was incorporated into the polymer matrix. The scaffold (named as HA/GCPU) with 40 wt% HA had an average pore size of 500 μm and a compressive strength of 4.6 MPa. The in vitro cell culture studies demonstrated that the HA/GCPU scaffold owned good cytocompatibility. The scaffold and cell-seeded scaffold were implanted in defects (Ф3 mm × 3 mm) of femoral condyle of Sprague–Dawley rats, respectively. New bone could extensively form in both the scaffold and cell-seeded scaffold. It indicates that the HA/GCPU composite scaffold has good prospect for bone repair and regeneration.