Hydroxyapatite whisker reinforced 63s glass scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Bioactive glass (BG) is widely used for bone tissue engineering. However, poor mechanical properties are the major shortcomings. In the study, hydroxyapatite nanowhisker (HANw) was used as a reinforcement to improve the mechanical properties. 63s glass/HANw scaffolds were successfully fabricated by selective laser sintering (SLS). It was found that the optimal compressive strength and fracture toughness were achieved when 10 wt.% HANw was added. This led to 36% increase in compressive strength and 83% increase in fracture toughness, respectively, compared with pure 63s glass scaffolds. Different reinforcement mechanisms were analyzed based on the microstructure investigation. Whisker bridging and whisker pulling-out were efficient in absorbing crack propagating energy, resulting in the improvement of the mechanical properties. Moreover, bioactivity and biocompatibility of the scaffolds were evaluated in vitro. The results showed that composite scaffolds with 10 wt.% HANw exhibited good apatite-forming ability and cellular affinity.