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Polylactic acid–phosphate glass composite foams as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering
Author(s) -
Georgiou G.,
Mathieu L.,
Pioletti D. P.,
Bourban P.E.,
Månson J.A. E.,
Knowles J. C.,
Nazhat S. N.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part b: applied biomaterials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1552-4981
pISSN - 1552-4973
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.b.30600
Subject(s) - materials science , polylactic acid , composite material , composite number , porosity , biocompatibility , phosphate glass , compressive strength , phosphate , dissolution , bioactive glass , dynamic mechanical analysis , lactic acid , chemical engineering , polymer , chemistry , optoelectronics , organic chemistry , genetics , engineering , doping , biology , bacteria , metallurgy
Abstract Phosphate glass (PG) of the composition 0.46(CaO)–0.04(Na 2 O)–0.5(P 2 O 5 ) was used as filler in poly‐ L ‐lactic acid (PLA) foams developed as degradable scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. The effect of PG on PLA was assessed both in bulk and porous composite foams. Composites with various PG content (0, 5, 10, and 20 wt %) were melt‐extruded, and either compression‐molded or foamed through supercritical CO 2 . Dynamic mechanical analysis on the bulk composites showed that incorporating 20 wt % PG resulted in a significant increase in storage modulus. Aging studies in deionized water in terms of weight loss, pH change, and ion release inferred that the degradation was due to PG dissolution, and dependent on the amount of glass in the composites. Foaming was only possible for composites containing 5 and 10 wt % PG, as an increase in PG increased the foam densities; however, the level of porosity was maintained above 75%. PLA‐ T g in the foams was higher than those obtained for the bulk. Compressive moduli showed no significant reinforcement with glass incorporation in either expansion direction, indicating no anisotropy. Biocompatibility showed that proliferation of human fetal bone cells was more rapid for PLA compared to PLA‐PG foams. However, the proliferation rate of PLA‐PG foams were similar to those obtained for foams of PLA with either hydroxyapatite or β‐tricalcium phosphate. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2007