Preparation and Cytocompatibility of Hydroxyapatite/glyceride Based Polyurethane Porous Scaffolds

Castor oil was transesterified with glycerol, the glyceride of castor oil (GCO) copolymerized with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) to generate polyurethane (PU). The porous scaffolds of hydroxyapatite/glyceride based polyurethae (HA/GCPU) were prepared by in situ polymerization. The GCPU and HA/GCPU porous scaffolds were characterized by Fourier transforw infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical property and porosity were tested. The results showed that the porosity of GCPU, HA/GCPU composite with 20% HA and HA/GCPU composite with 40% HA were (61 +/- 3)%, (68 +/- 2)% and (57 +/- 3)%, respectively. The compressive strength of above three porous scaffolds were 605 +/- 61, 2125 +/- 58 and (4588 +/- 260) kPa, respectively. To further evaluate the cytocompatibility of porous scaffolds, the MG63 cells were co-cultured on scaffolds, and light microscopy observation, SEM observation, 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium-bromide (MTT) assay were carried out. The results demonstrated that both pure GCPU and HA/GCPU scaffolds had no cytotoxicity. It is believed that HA/GCPU composite porous scaffolds have the potential to be applied in bone regeneration.