| Abstract Scope |
There are an estimated one million bone grafting procedures performed annually in the U.S. to repair fractures, cysts, bone defects, tumors, hip and knee replacements. Increase in the number of procedures is strongly tied to the increase in musculoskeletal disorder, aging population and sports related injuries where some require bone graft. We fabricated resorbable calcium phosphate (CaP) scaffolds using 3-D printing technology for bone tissue engineering. 3D interconnected channels in CaP scaffolds provide pathways for micronutrients, improved cell-material interactions. Dopant chemistry plays a vital role in controlling their degradation kinetics, mechanical strength, and biological properties. Dopants such as SrO, MgO, ZnO were used. In vivo studies using rat and rabbit femur model showed improvement in mechanical interlocking between scaffolds and surrounding bone. The research is being supported by the NIH R01 grant (NIBIB). This invited presentation will discuss processing, mechanical and biological property characterization of ceramic scaffolds for bone grafts. |