Abstract Although attempts to improve tissue-engineering scaffolds have been made using composite materials (synthetic polymers, bioceramics, etc.), research on bone tissue engineering has been limited to improving mechanical properties because of the intrinsic drawbacks of the grid-type structures conventionally used as scaffolds. To overcome this limitation, this study proposes a polycaprolactone/nano-hydroxyapatite scaffold with a kagome structure formed via material-extrusion process. The kagome structure is reported to be a mechanically superior open-pore structure. The mechanical properties and in vitro cell activities of 3D scaffolds have been studied with respect to the nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) content in the scaffold. The compressive modulus of the PCL/nHA scaffold with kagome structure was found to be significantly improved. In addition, nHA particles on the surface of the scaffold were exposed through alkaline erosion, improving bone-regenerating ability. The alkaline erosion did not affect the structural characteristics of the scaffold, including pore size, porosity, hydroxyapatite content, and compressive modulus. Additionally, we observed that the exposure of PCL/nHA particles promoted bone-regeneration activity through enhanced osteoconduction of the scaffold.

中文翻译：

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增强3D聚己内酯kagome支架力学性能和骨再生的策略：纳米羟基磷灰石复合材料及其暴露

摘要 虽然已经尝试使用复合材料（合成聚合物、生物陶瓷等）来改善组织工程支架，但由于传统使用的网格型结构的固有缺陷，骨组织工程的研究仅限于改善机械性能。作为脚手架。为了克服这一限制，本研究提出了一种聚己内酯/纳米羟基磷灰石支架，其具有通过材料挤出工艺形成的 Kagome 结构。据报道，kagome 结构是一种机械性能优越的开孔结构。已经根据支架中的纳米羟基磷灰石 (nHA) 含量研究了 3D 支架的机械性能和体外细胞活性。发现具有 kagome 结构的 PCL/nHA 支架的压缩模量显着提高。此外，支架表面的nHA颗粒通过碱蚀暴露，提高骨再生能力。碱蚀不影响支架的结构特征，包括孔径、孔隙率、羟基磷灰石含量和压缩模量。此外，我们观察到 PCL/nHA 颗粒的暴露通过增强支架的骨传导促进骨再生活动。