β-Tricalcium phosphate/poly(glycerol sebacate) scaffolds with robust mechanical property for bone tissue engineering

Robust β-TCP/PGS porous scaffolds are developed by incorporation of poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS, a flexible biodegradable polymer) into β-TCP scaffold. By impregnation of β-TCP scaffolds with low viscous PGS pre-polymer solution and further in situ crosslinking, the obtained β-TCP/PGS exhibited 3.7 time improvement in elongation at break and 200 time increase in strength as compared to pure β-TCP scaffolds, overcoming the brittleness of pure β-TCP scaffolds. Meanwhile, the β-TCP/PGS showed good pH auto-regulation ability and cytocompatibility.221