Preparation of Porous Hydroxyapatite-Zirconia Composite Scaffolds by Combination of Gel-Casting and Polymer Sponge Methods

Hydroxyapatite (HA) doped with 3%yttria-stabilized 20wt% zirconia (ZrO2) ceramic were developed in order to produce a porous composite biomaterial by integrating the gel-casting technique with polymer sponge method with improved mechanical strength and controllable porous structure. The pore morphology, size, and distribution of the scaffolds were characterized using an electron microscope. The scaffolds prepared have an open, uniform and interconnected porous structure with a pore size of 300~500m. The porosity of the open pores in the scaffold can be controlled by changing HA-ZrO2 composite concentration and it is between 87%~35%. A compressive strength of 12MPa for HA-ZrO2 porous scaffolds with HA-ZrO2 concentration of 55wt% was achieved, which is comparable to that of cortical bone.