Bioresorbable composites prepared by supercritical fluid foaming

Bone is a natural composite construct, with a gradient structure going from a loose interconnected cellular core to an outer dense wall, thus minimizing bone weight while keeping a high mechanical resistance. Due to this unique and complex structure, bone defects are difficult to replace or repair. Tissue engineering aims at providing artificial bone grafts. Several techniques have been proposed to produce porous structures or scaffolds, but, as yet, with no optimal solutions. This article focuses on bioresorbable ceramic-polymer composite foams obtained by supercritical fluid foaming. This flexible technique enables an adequate morphology and suitable properties for bone tissue engineering to be obtained. Composite scaffolds are biocompatible, allowing cell proliferation and differentiation. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.