Porous silicon-based scaffolds for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications

This work describes the formation of porous composite materials based on a combination of bioactive mesoporous silicon and bioerodible polymers such as poly-caprolactone (PCL). The fabrication of a range of composites prepared by both salt leaching and microemulsion techniques are discussed. Particular attention to the influence of Si content in the composite on in vitro calcification assays are assessed. For each system, cytotoxicity and cellular proliferation are explicitly evaluated through fibroblast cell culture assays. (c) 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.