Antibacterial polyurethane composite scaffolds for minimally invasive alveolar bone repair

Abstract

Traditional stimuli responsible scaffolds could avoid large volume trauma during implantation, however, for alveolar bone repair, the complexity and diversity of oral environment requested antibacterial and biocompatible materials. In this study, 3D porous scaffold was prepared by in-situ polymerization and gas foaming method for minimally invasive alveolar bone repair. Citrate functionalized amorphous calcium phosphate (CACP) was incorporated into the polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF) based polyurethane (PU) scaffolds, functioning as antibacterial factor and simultaneously enhancing the osteogenesis expression. The obtained scaffolds presented high porosity and proper pore size as extracellular matrix as well as adequate mechanical strength for cell adhesion and structural support. The bending experiments suggested the PU scaffolds achieved good shape memory effect at temperature of 37 °C In addition, excellent antibacterial rate was observed with increasing content of citrate, and in vitro experiments confirmed the excellent biocompatibility and cell osteoconductive capacity. The developed 3D programmable antibacterial scaffold could be a potential candidate for the minimally invasive alveolar bone regeneration.