To better mimic the mineral components and microstructures of natural bone,
as well as to improve cell adhesion on the scaffolds, hydroxyapatite (HA) has been
commonly used in TIPS to fabricate composite scaffolds. For example, PLLA/HA,
PLGA/HA, PHBV/HA, and PA/HA composite scaffolds have been produced using the TIPS method.
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The effects of solvent and HA size on Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/HA composite scaffolds were investigated. It was found that a ladder structure was obtained when dioxane was used as solvent, while an interconnected porous structure was achieved after adding a small amount of water as a non-solvent into the dioxane. It was also found that nano HA could efficiently stimulate mineralization behavior in the scaffolds in simulated body fluid(SBF).
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Some of the results are shown in Figure 6. Other additives, such as carbonnanotubes (CNT), bioactive glass, and calcium phosphate, have also been used to
produce composite scaffolds using the TIPS technique to improve scaffold proper-
ties and performance. It has been reported that chitosan-multiwall CNT
(MWCNT) composites promoted osteoblast cell proliferation, and calcium phos-
phate crystals, the mineralization products of osteoblast cells, were found on the
surface of scaffolds after just a few days of culture.
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The addition of CNT
improved the compression properties and enhanced the surface roughness of poly-
urethane scaffolds fabricated via TIPS.
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In addition, PLGA/bioglass and PLA/
calcium phosphate biodegradable scaffolds have also been reported as suitable
substitutes for bone tissue engineering applications