Preparation of hydroxyapatite scaffold with 3-dimensional interconnected spherical macrospores

Three-dimensional foam scaffolds are a key topic in tissue engineering research. A three-dimensional hydroxyapatite (HA) foam scaffold with controlled interconnected spherical pores was prepared. First, a slurry was prepared by hydroxyapatite powder and alcohol, and then the slurry was put in a polymer template that was prepared with Paraffin microspheres and NaCl particles as the raw materials and washed to remove the NaCl. The polymer template with the slurry was calcined at 400°C-600°C to remove the polymer template, and to form the HA foam scaffold sintered at 1100°C-250°C for 2 h. The morphology of the pores in the scaffold and the compressive properties of the scaffold were investigated. The results show that the scaffolds have a uniform and interconnected porous structure with a porosity between 40% and 90%. When the porosity is 65%, the compressive strength is 10 MPa, which is equivalent to that of cortical bone.