Three​‐dimensional porous poly(ε‐caprolactone)/beta‐tricalcium phosphate microsphere‐aggregated scaffold for bone tissue engineering

In this study, porous scaffolds made of polycaprolactone (PCL)/β‐tricalcium phosphate (BTCP) biocomposite were fabricated for bone tissue engineering (BTE) applications. The microsphere‐aggregated scaffolds were prepared with various BTCP concentrations (10wt%, 20wt%, 50wt%) by the freeze‐drying method. The porosity of obtained microsphere‐aggregated scaffolds with various pore sizes was 80–85%, where this value was about 70% for the PCL/BTCP (50) sample with no microsphere formation. The results indicated that adding BTCP has enhanced mechanical strength, and the mineralization of PCL/BTCP composite scaffolds has been increased compared to the pure PCL scaffolds in simulated body fluid (SBF). The adhesion and proliferation of mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs) seeded onto PCL/BTCP scaffolds were enhanced compared to the PCL. In addition, in terms of differentiation, the incorporation of BTCP led to increasing the mineral deposition and alkaline phosphatase activity of mMSCs. The synergistic effect of using microsphere‐aggregated scaffolds along with BTCP as a reinforcing agent in PCL biocomposite showed that these porous biocomposite scaffolds have the potential application in BTE.