The poor bioactivity and mechanical properties have restricted its biomedical application, although poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) had good biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this study, calcium silicate (CS) was incorporated into PHBV for improving its bioactivity and mechanical properties, and the porous PHBV/CS composite scaffolds were fabricated via selective laser sintering (SLS). Simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion tests indicated the composite scaffolds had good apatite-forming ability, which could be mainly attributed to the electrostatic attraction of negatively charged silanol groups derived from CS degradation to positively charged calcium ions in SBF. Moreover, the compressive properties of the composite scaffolds increased at first, and then decreased with increasing the CS content, which was ascribed to the fact that CS of a proper content could homogeneously disperse in PHBV matrix, while excessive CS would form continuous phase. The compressive strength and modulus of composite scaffolds with optimal CS content of 10 wt % were 3.55 MPa and 36.54 MPa, respectively, which were increased by 41.43% and 28.61%, respectively, as compared with PHBV scaffolds. Additionally, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay indicated MG63 cells had a higher proliferation rate on PHBV/CS composite scaffolds than that on PHBV. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining assay demonstrated the incorporation of CS significantly promoted osteogenic differentiation of MG63 cells on the scaffolds. These results suggest that the PHBV/CS composite scaffolds have the potential in serving as a substitute in bone tissue engineering.
Keywords: bioactivity; calcium silicate; composite scaffolds; cytocompatibility; mechanical properties; poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV).