Preparation, Characterization and Biological Studies of Β-TCP and Β-TCP/Al2O3 Scaffolds Obtained by Gel-Casting of Foams

• Autor(a) principal: Siqueira,Lilian
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Paula,Cynthia Guimarães de, Motisuke,Mariana, Gouveia,Rubia Figueredo, Camargo,Samira Esteves Afonso, Milhan,Noala Vicensoto Moreira, Trichês,Eliandra de Sousa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Materials research (São Carlos. Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-14392017000400973
• topic: Tricalcium phosphate; alumina; gel-casting method; cytocompatibility; scaffolds

Replacement tissues for tissue engineering can be produced by seeding human cells onto scaffolds. In order to guarantee adequate bio-compatibility, porosity and mechanical resistance for promoting cellular growth, proliferation and differentiation within scaffold structures, it is necessary to investigate and improve materials and processing routes. β-tricalcium phosphate can be considered a very suitable bio-ceramic material for bone therapy because of its biocompatibility, osteo-conductivity and neo-vascularization potential. Alumina is commonly used as a sintering additive. In this study, β-TCP and β-TCP/Al2O3 scaffolds were obtained by gel-casting method. The scaffolds showed high porosity (86-88%) and pore sizes ranging from 200 to 500 µm. Even though alumina did not promote improvement in β-TCP/Al2O3 scaffolds in terms of mechanical performance, they showed great cytocompatibility as there was no cytotoxic and genotoxic effect. Therefore, β-TCP and β-TCP/Al2O3 scaffolds are good candidates for application in tissue engineering.