Fabrication of a Whitlockite/PLGA Scaffold with Hierarchical Porosity for Bone Repair
Cai‐Feng Wang, Ruofei Zhang, Ki‐Jae Jeong, Wei Xiong, Zongran Liu, Zhengya Xie, Lin Hou, Jianxiao Gong, Zheng Lian, Mali Zu, Kelong Fan, Tianjiao Ji
Abstract
Regenerating functional bone tissue in critical-sized defects remains a formidable issue. Bone-tissue engineering (BTE) scaffolds are emerging as potential alternatives to bone transplantation for the repair of bone defects. However, developing BTE scaffolds with unique bone-healing properties and natural bone porous structure is challenging. Herein, we presented a biomimetic scaffold with hierarchical porosity via a solvent casting/particulate leaching method. The scaffold comprises osteoinductive whitlockite (WH) nanoparticles evenly dispersed in a poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid) (PLGA) matrix. Highly interconnected pores with hierarchical variations are present in the scaffold, enabling superior solution diffusion and compressive strength. Notably, the WH/PLGA scaffold effectively promoted osteoblast differentiation in vitro and induced bone formation in rat tibia defects, surpassing the performance of both the hydroxyapatite (HAP)/PLGA scaffold and the PLGA scaffold. This study provides a low-cost, facile, and scalable strategy for fabricating BTE scaffolds with favorable mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and bone repair capability.