Bioceramic "shell" scaffolds, with a morphology resembling the cancellous bone microstructure, have been recently obtained by means of a new protocol, developed with the aim to overcome the limits of the conventional foam replication technique. Because of their original microstructure, the new samples combine high porosity, permeability, and manageability. In this study, for the first time, the novel bioactive glass shell scaffolds are provided with a gelatin-based biomimetic coating to realize hybrid implants which mimic the complex morphology and structure of bone tissue. Moreover, the presence of the coating completely preserves the in vitro bioactivity of the bioactive glass samples, whose surfaces are converted into hydroxyapatite after a few days of immersion in a simulated body fluid solution (SBF).
Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.