Theresa Reiter

Theresa Reiter

Zeitraum: 2017 Bachelor Studentin

Betreuer: Katharina Schuhladen, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Thema:

Bioactive glass scaffolds coated with gelatin as carrier for bioactive molecules

Bone tissue engineering requires bioactive scaffolds with similar mechanical properties as bone. For this reason, composite materials based on inorganic materials and biodegradable polymers have received increasing attention in bone repair applications [1]. The aim of this Bachelor project is the fabrication of 45S5 bioactive glass scaffolds that possess adequate properties concerning overall porosity, bioactivity and mechanical behavior. Therefore, 3D sponge-like scaffolds based on bioactive glass will be produced using the foam replication technique [2]. Because these materials exhibit relatively low fracture strength and high brittleness, the scaffolds are coated with a biopolymer [3], in this project with crosslinked gelatin. Several tests are conducted to investigate the effects of the gelatin coating on structural and mechanical properties. Moreover, this biodegradable polymer coating can be used as a carrier for bioactive molecules, e.g. antioxidants [3]. In addition to the mechanical properties, the release kinetics as well as the bioactivity of the biomolecule and gelatin coated scaffolds is examined.

[1] K. Rezwan et al., Biodegradable and bioactive porous polymer/inorganic composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, Biomaterials 27 (2006) 3413–3431.

[2] Q.Z. Chen et al.,45S5 Bioglass®-derived glass–ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, Biomaterials 27 (2006) 2414–2425. ([1] Q.Z. Chen et al.,45S5 Bioglass®-derived glass–ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, Biomaterials 27 (2006) 2414–2425.

[3] A. Philippart, et al., Toughening and functionalization of bioactive ceramic and glass bone scaffolds by biopolymer coatings and infiltration. A review of the last 5 years, Expert Review of Medical Devices 12 (1) (2015) 93–111.