Fabrication and characterization of pcl/ha/ppy composite scaffold using freeze-drying technique

Abstract

Bone tissue regeneration and healing could be notably quickened via applying electrical stimuli in the defected area. Hence, a conductive tissue engineering scaffold that is capable of delivering the electrical stimuli is greatly desirable. In this study, electrically conductive scaffold was fabricated by using a biocompatible conductive polymer, polypyrrole (PPY) in the optimized nanocomposite scaffold of Polycaprolactone (PCL) and Hydroxyapatite (HA) using freeze-drying technique. The scaffolds were evaluated by using a number of techniques. The morphology of the scaffolds was observed and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Composite scaffolds with suitable pore size distribution were obtained by freezing the polymer solution mixture at-18ºC, by controlling the polymer and solvent phase crystallization. The results showed that the average pore sizes were decreased from 123.7μm for PCL scaffolds to 91.6μm with the incorporation of HA nanoparticles. Electrical conductivity of the scaffolds was evaluated using a digital multimeter. The wettability and porosity of the scaffolds were increased with the incorporation of Polypyrrole than Polycaprolactone scaffold. The newly fabricated PCL/HA/PPY scaffold showed good prospect to be employed for bone tissue engineering applications.