FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CALCIUM SILICATE SCAFFOLDS FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING.

Calcium silicate (CaSi03) is a promising material due to its favorable biological properties. However, it was difficult to fabricate ceramic scaffolds with interconnected porous structure via conventional technology. In present study, CaSi03 scaffolds with totally interconnected pores were fabricated via selective laser sintering (SLS). The microstructure, mechanical and biological properties were examined. The results revealed that the powder gradually fused together with the reduction of voids and the elimination of particle boundary as the laser power increased in the range of 3-15 W with scanning electron microscope. Meanwhile the low-temperature phase(β-CaSi03) transformed into high-temperature phase (a-CaSi03) gradually, which decreased the mechanical properties of the obtained scaffolds. Besides, the compressive strength increased from 12.9 ±2.34 MPa to 18.19± 1.24MPa (the laser power is 12 w) and then decreased gradually with increasing laser power. In vitro biological properties of CaSi03 scaffolds sintered under optimal conditions indicated that the distribution of apatite mineralization became uniform as the amount of them increased after being immersed in simulated body fluids. In the meantime, the thin cytoplasmic extensions of MG-63 cells increased until formed a dense cell layer after 1-5 days of cell culture. The results suggested that the CaSi03 scaffold fabricated via SLS has potential application for bone tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]