Synthesis of aligned porous poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite microspheres

Mi Jin Kim, Young Hag Koh

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    33 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We synthesized poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite microspheres with an aligned porous structure and evaluated their potential applications in bone tissue engineering. A range of HA particles (0, 5, 10 and 20 wt.% in relation to the PCL polymer) were added to a PCL solution in order to improve the biocompatibility of the porous PCL/HA composite microspheres. All the synthesized microspheres showed that the HA particles were distributed well in the PCL matrix, while preserving their aligned porous structure. The average size of the PCL/HA composite microspheres increased from 62 ± 7 to 179 ± 95 μm with increasing HA content from 0 to 20 wt.%. The incorporation of the HA particles to the PCL polymer led to a considerable improvement in in vitro bioactivity, which was assessed by immersing the PCL/HA composite microspheres in simulated body fluid (SBF). A number of apatite crystals could be precipitated on the surface of the aligned porous PCL/HA composite microspheres after soaking in the SBF for 7 days.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2266-2272
    Number of pages7
    JournalMaterials Science and Engineering C
    Volume33
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013 May 1

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    Contract grant sponsor: Korea Healthcare Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea ; contract grant number: A110416 .

    Keywords

    • Composite
    • Hydroxyapatite
    • In vitro bioactivity
    • Polymer
    • Pore

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Materials Science
    • Condensed Matter Physics
    • Mechanics of Materials
    • Mechanical Engineering

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