Porous Zn-containing bioactive glass-ceramic and glass-ceramic/polyester composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

The porous Zn-containing glass and glass-ceramic scaffolds were prepared by sintering a ceramic slip-coated polymer foam at 700℃ and 1200℃，and the PLGA (poly-lactic-glyoclic-acid) or PBS (poly (butylene succinate)) glass-ceramic composite scaffolds were obtained by coating a PLGA and PBS film on the framework of the glass-ceramic scaffolds. The obtained glass-ceramic scaffolds have a well-interconnected porous structure and show high porosity of 80.1%±0.6% and low compressive strength of 258.4 kPa±23.6 kPa. The coating of PLGA or  PBS film on glass-ceramic scaffolds does not affect interconnection of the pores，but results in a decrease of porosity and a sharp increase of compressive strength. The porosity and compressive strength of the scaffolds were 75.9%±0.6% and 1509.4 kPa±162.8 kPa for 58S3Z-1200℃-PLGA，and 77.9%±0.9%，901.6 kPa±94.5 kPafor 58S3Z-1200℃-PBS. The in vitro degradation experiments show that the composite scaffolds are degradable，reaching up to 13.3% (58S3Z-1200℃-PLGA) and 2.1% (58S3Z-1200℃-PBS) after 28 days of soaking. The cellular responses were assessed by culturing mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) on the scaffolds，and SEM observations show that the cells are attached to and proliferate well on the scaffolds. The results suggest that the composite scaffold has porous structure，higher mechanical strength，good degradability and cell compatibility，and might be used for bone tissue engineering.