abstract
Synthetic bone graft substitutes, including calcium phosphates (CaP), bioactive glasses (BG), and their composites with biopolymer matrices are attracting interest for bone tissue repair and regeneration. A key challenge is accurately replicating the biological structure and functionality of natural bone and optimizing the porous structure to match trabecular bone. This has been addressed by doping CaPs with therapeutic ions and using scaffolding methods like polymeric sponge replication and different additive manufacturing techniques. Biomimetic approaches employing naturally occurring porous biominerals with pore sizes comparable to those of trabecular bone, offer promising alternatives. This work reviews the hydrothermal transformation of cuttlefish bone (CB) into CaP scaffolds, while preserving its original porous structure, producing hydroxyapatite (HA, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2), tricalcium phosphate (TCP, Ca3(PO4)2), and biphasic CaPs, both undoped and therapeutic ion-doped, constructs. Coating such biomimetic scaffolds with sol-gel-derived BG and biopolymers produces multifunctional bone graft substitutes with enhanced mechanical and biological properties. Moreover, polymeric coatings can act as drug reservoirs, enabling controlled release of therapeutic agents. The review highlights that integrating biomimetic strategies with advanced coating solutions holds great promise for creating multifunctional scaffolds that mimic nature and improve therapeutic outcomes in bone tissue engineering.
keywords
MARROW STROMAL CELLS; HYDROXYAPATITE SCAFFOLDS; CALCIUM-CARBONATE; STEM-CELLS; GRAFT SUBSTITUTE; CORAL; DEFECTS; GROWTH; RHVEGF(165); INFECTIONS
subject category
Materials Science
authors
Neto, AS; Gaddam, A; Stan, GE; Ferreira, JMF
our authors
Ana Sofia Neto
PhD StudentAnuraag Gaddam
Assistant Researcher
José Maria da Fonte Ferreira
Retired Professoracknowledgements
FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); FCT; National Institute of Materials Physics; Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, Grant/Award Number: PC1-PN23080101; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology