Bionanocomposites formed by combining biodegradable polymers and nanosized osteoconductive inorganic solids have been regarded as promising biomimetic systems which possess much improved structural and functional properties for bone tissue regeneration. In this study three-dimensional nanocomposite scaffolds based on calcium phosphate (Ca-P)/poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHAp)/poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanocomposite microspheres were successfully fabricated using selective laser sintering, which is a rapid prototyping technology. The sintered scaffolds had controlled material microstructure, totally interconnected porous structure and high porosity. The morphology and mechanical properties of Ca-P/PHBV and CHAp/PLLA nanocomposite scaffolds as well as PHBV and PLLA polymer scaffolds were studied. In vitro biological evaluation showed that SaOS-2 cells had high cell viability and normal morphology and phenotype after 3 and 7 days culture on all scaffolds. The incorporation of Ca-P nanoparticles significantly improved cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity for Ca-P/PHBV scaffolds, whereas CHAp/PLLA nanocomposite scaffolds exhibited a similar level of cell response compared with PLLA polymer scaffolds. The nanocomposite scaffolds provide a biomimetic environment for osteoblastic cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation and have great potential for bone tissue engineering applications.
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