Preparation and properties of the CS/AW composite as porous scaffold material

The chitosan (CS)/apatite-wollastonite (AW) composite porous scaffold material was prepared with AW porous glass ceramic as matrix，being coated with CS. The composition，microstructure，mechanical and mineralizing properties of the composite materials were studied by means of FRIT，SEM，optical microscope and strength testing. The results show that the composite materials still have three dimensional and interconnective as well as uniformly distributed porous structure，the diameters of pores range from 100μm to 500μm，the porosity of the composite is about 80%，and the mechanical properties of the composite materials are increased greatly，the average compressive strength being 3.11 MPa，8.3 times that of the AW scaffold material. The in vitro simulated body fluid (SBF) soaking shows that the composite materials have high mineralization function，and indicates that they also have good bioactivity. This composite is a promising material for tissue engineering scaffold materials and non-load bearing bone implants.