抄録
Continuous porous structure of hydroxy apatite (HA) was fabricated by the template method as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering. Secondary polymer phase of bioabsorbable poly(s-caprolactone) (PCL) was introduced into the HA porous structure through two different methods in order to improve the mechanical properties. Two types of HA/PCL composite scaffolds, namely PCL-coated HA scaffold and HA/PCL dual-phase scaffold, were developed and the compressive properties were compared. Their microstructures were also observed by FE-SEM. It was found that the PCL-coated possesses better mechanical properties than the dual-phase. It is considered that the PCL phase coated onto HA surfaces reinforces effectively the brittle HA frame structure. The dual-phase structure can hold the porous structure after HA frame collapses, resulting in the improvement of mechanical properties. However, the freeze-dry process for the dual-phase fabrication tends to degrade the HA frames, resulting in the lower properties than the PCL-coated.
