(625s) Poly (lactide-co-glycolide)/Carbon Nanotube Composite Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

There is a growing need for bone regeneration strategies due to trauma and musculoskeletal diseases. To meet this need, tissue engineering approaches have been developed in which a three dimensional (3-D) porous scaffold can be used with or without living cells and growth factors to replace or regenerate damaged bone. In tissue engineering strategies, scaffolds have an inevitable influence on the organization, growth and differentiation of cells in tissue engineered constructs. In this study, poly(lactide-co-glycoide) (PLGA) and carbon nanotube were used to make novel composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine the morphology of and pore structure of composite scaffolds. Next, we studied the role of carbon nanotube length, density and orientation in mechanical behavior of composite scaffolds. Finally, we examined the attachment, growth and osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on PLGA/carbon nanotube composite scaffolds. In this presentation, we demonstrate the ability to increase osteoconductivity of scaffolds by tuning the density and orientation of embedded carbon nanotubes.