• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.16 no.11
• /
• pp.715-718
• /
• 2006

Porous hydroxyapatite (HAp) scaffolds have been prepared by using the slurry including HAp and magnesia based on the replication of polymer sponge substrate. The influence of MgO content in slurry on the pore morphology and size, density, porosity, and mechanical strength of porous HAp scaffolds was investigated. The obtained scaffolds with average pore sizes ranging 150 to 300 mm had open, relatively uniform, and interconnected porous structure regardless of MgO content. As the MgO content increased, the pore network frame of scaffolds became to be relatively stronger, even though the pore size was not much changed. The compressive strength of the scaffolds increased rapidly with the increase of MgO content because of increasing the pore wall thickness and density of the scaffolds. As a result, the porosity, density, and compressive strength of the porous HAp scaffolds prepared by the sponge method were significantly affected by the addition of MgO.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2000.11a
• /
• pp.421-424
• /
• 2000

Cartilage injuries are frequent nowadays. The previous surgical treatment of cartilage defect was limited. Another approach in the treatment of cartilage injuries is the use of reconstitute cartilage consisting of chondrocytes cultured in suitable biodegradable scaffolds. Current studies have demonstrated the compatibility of chondrocytes with different biomaterials and the chondrogenesis in various types of porous scaffolds. The cell ingrowth into the porous scaffolds is modulated by initial cell loading efficiency. Therefore, well-interconnected pore structure and even pore distribution of the scaffolds are essential for efficient cell seeding. According to our previous work, well-interconnected macroporous scaffolds can be prepared by gas-foaming/salt-leaching method using ammonium bicarbonate salt as porogen additives. In this work, primary chondrocytes were cultured in PLGA 65/35 scaffolds fabricated by using our method. Cells seeded in the scaffolds showed well distribution by agitated seeding method. Histochemical staining of proteoglycans present in the scaffolds was used to visualize the chondrocyte ingrowth in the scaffolds. At 3 weeks, the population of chondrocytes was increased for the most part of the scaffolds, and extra cellular matrix (ECM) secretion was increased as culture periods progressed.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2009.11a
• /
• pp.12.1-12.1
• /
• 2009

Nano-hydroxyapatite (N-HAp)has shown the pivotal role in producing bone-regenerative materials since it has similarity to natural bone minerals in terms of size, morphology, and the composition. Currently, the combination of biopolymers and N-HAp is recognizedas an attractive approach in generating hybrid scaffolds for bone tissueengineering. Surface engineering is an important issue since it determines whether cells can effectively adhere and proliferate on porous scaffolds. We aim to develop a synthetic approach to porous 3D scaffolds by immobilizing N-HAp on pore surfaces. The discrete nano-level anchoring of N-HAp on the scaffold pore surface is achieved using surface-repellent stable colloidal N-HAp with surface phosphate functionality. This rational surface engineering enables surface-anchored N-HAp to express its overall intrinsic bioactivity,since N-HAp is not phase-mixed with the polymers. The porous polymer scaffolds with surface-immobilized N-HAp provide more favorable environments thanconventional bulk phase-mixed polymer/N-HAp scaffolds in terms of cellular interaction and growth. In vitro biological evaluation using alkalinephosphatase activity assay supports that immobilized N-HAp on pore surfaces of polymer scaffolds contributed to the more enhanced in vitro osteogenicpotential. Besides, the scaffolds with surface-exposed N-HAp provide favorable environments for enhanced in vivo bone tissue growth, estimated by characteristic biomarkers of bone formation such as collagen. The results suggest that newly developed hybrid scaffolds with surface-immobilized N-HApmay serve as a useful 3D substrate with pore surfaces featuring excellent bonetissue-regenerative properties. Acknowledgement. This research was supported by a grant (code #: 2009K000430) from 'Center for Nanostructured Materials Technology' under '21st Century Frontier R&D Programs' of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Korea.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.19 no.7
• /
• pp.362-368
• /
• 2009

Ti scaffolds with a three-dimensional porous structure were successfully fabricated using powder metallurgy and modified rapid prototyping (RP) process. The fabricated Ti scaffolds showed a highly porous structure with interconnected pores. The porosity and pore size of the scaffolds were in the range of 66$\sim$72% and $300\sim400\;\mu$m, respectively. The sintering of the fabricated scaffolds under the vacuum caused the Ti particles to bond to each other. The strength of the scaffolds depended on the layering patterns. The compressive strength of the scaffolds ranged from 15 MPa to 52 MPa according to the scaffolds' architecture. The alkali treatment of the fabricated scaffolds in an aqueous NaOH solution was shown to be effective in improving the bioactivity. The surface of the alkali-treated Ti scaffolds had a nano-sized fibre-like structure. The modified surface showed a good apatite forming ability. The apatite was formed on the surface of the alkali treated Ti scaffolds within 1 day. The thickness of the apatite increased when the soaking time in a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution increased. It is expected that the surface modification of Ti scaffolds by alkali treatment could be effective in forming apatites in vivo and can subsequently enhance bone formation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.17 no.11
• /
• pp.622-627
• /
• 2007

Porous poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds were fabricated by salt leaching method. The PCL scaffolds were treated with aqueous NaOH for 0h, 2h, 4h, 8h, and 12h at $40^{\circ}C$. The NaOH-treated PCL scaffolds were dipped in $CaCl_2$ and $K_2HPO_4{\cdot}_3H_2O$ solution alternately three times to induce apatite nuclei onto the surface of the scaffolds. The NaOH-treated PCL scaffolds were immersed into SBF solution for 1day to grow the apatite. The apatite formation were investigated as a fuction of NaOH treatment time. The hydrophilicty and surface area of the PCL scaffolds were increased with NaOH-treatment time. The NaOH-treated PCL scaffolds were successfully formed a dense and uniform bone-like apatite layer after immersion for 1 day in SBF solution.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.285-294
• /
• 2014

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the properties of a porous zirconia scaffold coated with bioactive materials and compare the in vitro cellular behavior of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblastic cells to titanium and zirconia disks and porous zirconia scaffolds. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Titanium and zirconia disks were prepared. A porous zirconia scaffold was fabricated with an open cell polyurethane disk foam template. The porous zirconia scaffolds were coated with ${\beta}$-TCP, HA and a compound of ${\beta}$-TCP and HA (BCP). The characteristics of the specimens were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDX), and x-ray diffractometry (XRD). The dissolution tests were analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ICP). The osteogenic effect of MC3T3-E1 cells was assessed via cell counting and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS. The EDX profiles showed the substrate of zirconia, which was surrounded by the Ca-P layer. In the dissolution test, dissolved $Ca^{2+}$ ions were observed in the following decreasing order; ${\beta}$-TCP > BCP > HA (P<.05). In the cellular experiments, the cell proliferation on titanium disks appeared significantly lower in comparison to the other groups after 5 days (P<.05). The zirconia scaffolds had greater values than the zirconia disks (P<.05). The mRNA level of osteocalcin was highest on the non-coated zirconia scaffolds after 7 days. CONCLUSION. Zirconia had greater osteoblast cell activity than titanium. The interconnecting pores of the zirconia scaffolds showed enhanced proliferation and cell differentiation. The activity of osteoblast was more affected by microstructure than by coating materials.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.86-92
• /
• 2016

In this study, we used a polymer deposition system, based on fused deposition modeling, to fabricate the 3D scaffold and then fabricated micro-pores on a 3D scaffold using a salt leaching method. Materials included polycaprolactone (PCL) and sodium chloride (NaCl). The 3D porous scaffolds were fabricated according to blending ratio such as PCL (70 wt%)/NaCl (30 wt%) and PCL (50 wt%)/NaCl (50 wt%). The 3D porous scaffolds were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that 3D porous scaffolds had a deposition width of $500{\mu}m$, contained a pore size of $500{\mu}m$ and below $100{\mu}m$. To evaluate the 3D porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, we carried out the cell proliferation experiment using a CCK-8 and a mechanical strength test using a universal testing machine. In summary, the 3D porous scaffold was found to be suitable for cancellous bone of human in accordance with the result of in-vitro cell proliferation and mechanical strength. Thus, a 3D porous scaffold could be a promising approach for effective bone regeneration.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2000.04a
• /
• pp.141-144
• /
• 2000

Highly open porous polymer matrices are required for high density cell seeding, efficient nutrient, and oxygen supply to the cells cultured in the three dimensional matrices. However, there are severe problems of mass transfer limitations within the cell/scaffolds culture system. Thus we hypothesize that continuos-flow culture conditioning of cells with the scaffolds may improve the cell viability and the differentiated function. In this study, we fabricated porous PLGA scaffolds by using gas-foaming/salt-leaching method as previous described. Viscous PLGA gel paste contains ammonium bicarbonate particulates, acting as a gas-foaming agent as well as a salt-leaching porogen, were cast into Teflon mold and dried. Ammonium bicarbonate salt upon contact to an acidic aqueous solution evloves gaseous ammonia and carbon dioxide by itself. And we conjugated galactose moiety [AGA; $N-(aminobuty1)-O-{\beta}-D-galactopyranosyl-(1{\rightarrow}4)-D-glucoamide]$ to the terminal end group of a PLGA to increase the cell adhesion and matain the differentiated function of hepatocytes. Cell-seeded scaffolds were secured in a flow bioreactor chamber and exposed to continuous flow at 5 ml/min. As a result of our study, the high yield of hepatocytes attachment was accomplished by increasing the concentration of PLGA-AGA conjugate in polymer scaffolds and cells in the scaffolds under continuos flow condition maintained a high level of viability and albumin secretion rate of cultured hepatocytes showed a higher level that of control groups.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.235-242
• /
• 2017

In order to prepare porous scaffolds capable of pore control, PMMA powder serving as a pore-forming agent was added to HA powder to synthesize a slurry containing TBA as a solvent. And then, porous HA scaffolds where pillarshaped pore channels interconnected with each other were fabricated by freeze-casting and sintering. The crystal structure of the HA scaffolds according to the addition amount of PMMA powder was measured by XRD and the surface and inner cross section of the scaffolds were analyzed through SEM. It was found that removal of PMMA during sintering affects the internal structure of the scaffolds and the crystallinity of the HA powder. Furthermore, through evaluating the physical and mechanical properties of the scaffolds, it was confirmed that the porosity, pore size and compressive strength can be controlled by controlling the addition amount of the pore-forming agent. It was also found that the HA scaffolds produced in this study were similar in structure and properties to the natural cancellous bone. This suggests that porous HA scaffolds with PMMA can be used as an alternative to autogenous bone for tissue engineering as an artificial bone scaffold.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2007.06a
• /
• pp.213-214
• /
• 2007