Biodegradable PHBV polymer-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

This chapter reports the emulsion freezing/freeze-drying technique for the formation of three-dimensional porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications. Poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), which is a natural, biodegradable polymer, was used as the main polymer for fabricating various tissue engineering scaffolds. Nano-sized hydroxyapatite (HA), a widely used bioceramic, was incorporated in the scaffolds in order to obtain bioactive (i.e., osteoconductive) composite scaffolds. The chapter focused in two areas: (1) investigations into scaffold fabrication using the emulsion freezing/freeze-drying technique and the influence of processing parameters on the formation of PHBV polymer scaffolds, HA/PHBV composite scaffolds and HA-containing PHBV/PLLA blend-based composite scaffolds; (2) evaluation of different scaffolds in terms of their porous structure, porosity, pore size, polymer crystallinity, compressive mechanical properties, in vitro biodegradation behavior and in vitro biological performance.