Preparation of calcium phosphate cement tissue engineering scaffold reinforced with chitin fiber

Macroporous calcium phosphate cement (CPC) scaffold was prepared by a salt-leaching method using water-dissoluble rod-shaped monosodium glutamate crystals as poregen. The relationship between the porosity and the amount of poregen was investigated. The results indicate that the porosity of CPC scaffold come up to (79.8 +/- 2.3)% with a pore size range of 100-600 mu m. Chitin fibers was incorporated to reinforce CPC scaffold. The compressive strength of the Chitin fibers reinforced CPC scaffold increases 3 to 4 times higher than that of the CPC scaffold without fibers and the strain of fracture increases remarkably. The scaffold material may be applied in the bone tissue engineering for repair of non-load bearing bone defects.