Preparation of bioactive porous HA/PCL composite scaffolds

Porous hydroxyapatite (HA) bioceramic scaffold has been widely attracted the attention to act as a three-dimensional (3D) template for cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation and thus promoting bone and cartilage regeneration because of its osteoinduction. However, the porous bioceramic scaffold is fragile so that it is not suitable to be applied in clinic for bone repair or replacement. Therefore, it is significant to improve the mechanical property of porous HA bioceramics while the interconnected structure is maintained for tissue ingrowth in vivo. In the present research, a porous composite scaffold composed of HA scaffold and polycaprolactone (PCL) lining was fabricated by the method of polymer impregnating to produce HA scaffold coated with PCL lining. Subsequently, the composite scaffolds were deposited with biomimetic coating for improving the bioactivity. The HA/PCL composite scaffolds with improved mechanical property and bioactivity is expected to be a promising bone substitute in tissue engineering applications.