Surface modifications of scaffolds for bone regeneration

Abstract

An important strategy in bone tissue engineering is to design and implement biomaterials for the construction of desired scaffolds for the treatment of injuries or fractures. The scaffolds used in bone tissue engineering should have enough strength to withstand the mechanical stress during bone regeneration. However, synthetic or biological polymers used for the fabrication of bone scaffolds do not possess appropriate substrates for an effective material-cell interaction. Consequently, scaffolds are subjected to a variety of physical and chemical post-modifications, and this review discusses only various chemical methods used in post-modifications of scaffolds. Different chemical modifications of scaffolds surfaces are divided into three major categories including plasma surface modification, surface modification with various crosslinking agents and surface functionalization with different functional groups.

Keywords

• Bone regeneration
• Scaffold
• Surface modification