The influence of polymer concentrations on the structure and mechanical properties of porous polycaprolactone-coated hydroxyapatite scaffolds

Polycaprolactone (PCL)-coated porous hydroxyapatite (HA) composite scaffolds were prepared by combining polymer impregnating method with dip-coating method. Three different PCL solution concentrations were used in dip-coating process to improve the mechanical properties of porous HA scaffolds. The results indicated that as the concentration of PCL solution increases the compressive strength significantly increased from 0.09 MPa to 0.51 MPa while the porosity decreased from 90% to 75% for the composite scaffolds. An interlaced structure was found inside the pore wall for all composite scaffolds due to the penetration of PCL. The porous HA/PCL composite scaffolds dip-coated with 10% PCL exhibited optimal combination of mechanical properties and pore interconnectivity, and may be a potential bone candidate for the tissue engineering applications.