Silk as a biocohesive sacrificial binder in the fabrication of hydroxyapatite load bearing scaffolds.

ABSTRACT: Limitations of current clinical methods for bone repair continue to fuel the demand for a high strength, bioactive bone replacement material. Recent attempts to produce porous scaffolds for bone regeneration have been limited by the intrinsic weakness associated with high porosity materials. In this study, ceramic scaffold fabrication techniques for potential use in load-bearing bone repairs have been developed using naturally derived silk from Bombyx mori. Silk was first employed for ceramic grain consolidation during green body formation, and later as a sacrificial polymer to impart porosity during sintering. These techniques allowed preparation of hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds that exhibited a wide range of mechanical and porosity profiles, with some displaying unusually high compressiv

SUBMITTER: McNamara SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4103993 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature