Baghdadite reinforced polycaprolactone scaffold for bone tissue engineering

In this work, baghdadite (Bag) bioceramic powder was synthesized using the mechanical activation method and was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, whereas, its phase purity was confirmed. Then, polycaprolactone (PCL) porous scaffolds including different amounts of Bag (0, 15, and 30 wt%) were 3D-printed using fused deposition modeling (FDM) method. The 3D-printed nanobiocomposite scaffolds were characterized using SEM, XRD, compression, bioactivity, and biodegradation tests. For bioactivity evaluation, the PCL-Bag composite scaffolds were immersed in the simulated body fluid (SBF) for up to 4 weeks. It was found that the hydroxyapatite formation as a criterion of bioactivity was increased by increasing the Bag content of the composite scaffolds, as well as, increasing their mechanical properties. Results of the degradation test indicated that PCL with 12.3% weight loss, had the lowest degradation rate and PCL-30Bag had the highest degradation with 21.5% weight loss. Also, the results of the cell study showed that with the increase of baghdadite content in the composite, more living cells can be seen on the surface of the scaffolds, provided their non-toxicity property. Finally, this research work showed that PCL-Bag composite scaffold with 30 wt% of baghdadite can be a suitable candidate for bone tissue engineering.