Foam-like scaffolds for bone tissue engineering based on a novel couple of silicate-phosphate specular glasses: synthesis and properties

Glass-ceramic scaffolds mimicking the structure of cancellous bone were produced via sponge replication technique by using a polyurethane foam as template and glass powder below 30 mu m as inorganic phase. Specifically, a SiO2-based glass of complex composition and its corresponding P2O5-based specular glass were used as materials for scaffolding. The polymeric sponge was thermally removed and the glass powders were sintered to obtain a replica of the template structure. The scaffolds were investigated and compared from a structural, morphological and mechanical viewpoint by assessing their crystalline phases, volumetric shrinkage, pores content and interconnection, mechanical strength. In addition, the scaffolds were soaked in acellular simulated body fluid to investigate their in vitro behaviour. The produced scaffolds have a great potential for bone reconstructive surgery because their features, such as shape, strength, bioactivity and bioresorption, can be easily tailored according to the end use.