Alginate/calcium phosphate scaffolds with oriented, tube‐like pores

Porous and mineralised scaffolds are required for various applications in hard tissue engineering. Scaffolds with oriented tube‐like pores facilitate homogenous cell seeding, a sufficient nutrient supply during cell culture (even in big constructs) and a fast vascularisation after implantation. The phenomenon of ionotropic gelation has been known since more than 30 years which describes that alginate forms gels with capillary‐like pores when covered with solutions of di‐ or trivalent cations [1]. This technique has been used here to develop scaffolds with tube‐like and regular pores from alginate/calcium phosphate composites and to stabilise them by mineralisation with hydroxyapatite from solution.