Accelerated formation of bone-like apatite on biodegradable polymer substrates

Using an acellular simulated body fluid (SBF), bone-like apatite can be formed on a variety of biomaterials, bioactive or bioinert, after these materials have undergone appropriate treatment(s). This biomimetic apatite-forming process is now applied to tissue engineering scaffolds in an attempt to make the scaffolds osteoconductive. In the current investigation, to form bone-like apatite on polymers such as poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) which degrade fast in aqueous environment, a solution (5SBF) of five times the ion concentrations of SBF was used so that an accelerated apatite formation could be achieved on PLLA and PGA. It was shown that indeed apatite could be formed on PLLA and PGA in 5SBF within 24 hours and that the apatite formed in 5SBF was similar in morphology and composition to that formed in the classical biomimetic process employing SBF or 2SBF. Results obtained in this investigation are very useful for producing osteoconductive scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.