Incorporation of biodegradable electrospun fibers into calcium phosphate cement for bone regeneration

Inherent brittleness and slow degradation are the major drawbacks for the use of calcium phosphate cements (CPCs). To address these issues, biodegradable ultrafine fibers were incorporated into the CPC in this study. Four types of fibers made of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) (PCL12: 1.1 mu m, PCL15: 1.4 mu m, PCL18: 1.9 mu m) and poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA4: 1.4 mu m) were prepared by electrospinning using a special water pool technique, then mixed with the CPC at fiber weight fractions of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7%. After incubation of the composites in simulated body fluid for 7 days, they were characterized by a gravimetric measurement for porosity evaluation, a three-point bending test for mechanical properties, microcomputer topography and scanning electron microscopy for morphological observation. The results indicated that the incorporation of ultrafine fibers increases the fracture resistance and porosity of CPCs. The toughness of the composites increased with the fiber fraction but was not affected by the fiber diameter. It was found that the incorporated fibers formed a channel-like porous structure in the CPCs. After degradation of the fibers, the created space and high porosity of the composite cement provides inter-connective channels for bone tissue in growth and facilitates cement resorption. Therefore, we concluded that this electrospun fiber-CPC composite may be beneficial to be used as bone fillers. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.