Bioresorbable glass effect on the physico-chemical properties of bilayered scaffolds for osteochondral regeneration

In this work, bilayered and bioresorbable composite scaffolds are developed with mechanical and functional properties for osteochondral tissue engineering. Porous scaffolds made of gelatin (G) and bioresorbable phosphate glass (I-CEL2) with different compositions (I-CEL2/G 0/100; 30/70; 70/30 %w/w) were fabricated by freeze-drying. Samples were crosslinked using g-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane to improve mechanical strength and thermal stability. I-CEL2/G samples showed interconnected pores having an average diameter ranging from 13975 mm for I-CEL2/G 0/100 to 11679 mm for I-CEL2/G 70/30. GPTMS-crosslinking and the increase of I-CEL2 amount stabilized the composites to water solution, as shown by swelling tests. The compressive modulus increased by increasing I-CEL2 amount up to 7.670.5 MPa for I-CEL2/G 70/30.