Development of microspheres covered with hydroxyapatite nanocrystals as cell scaffold for angiogenesis

We prepared poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) cell scaffolds coated with hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocrystals with 50–100 nm in diameter via the Pickering emulsion method. Our cell scaffolds were composed of biodegradable polymers and HAp nanocrystals as a core and shell, respectively. The scaffolds were spherical but displayed uneven shapes when altering a shear speed of homogenization during syntheses. The surface coverage of HAp nanocrystals was examined because the HAp-coating ratio for the scaffolds was an important factor as cell scaffolds in order to enhance cell adhesion. On the basis of scanning electron microscopy observations and thermogravimetric analyses, it was found that the cell scaffolds showed distorted morphologies, and the HAp-coating ratio decreased with increasing the shear speed in the synthesis because shear stress influenced shapes of the scaffolds.