Microengineered Polymer- and Ceramic-Based Biomaterial Scaffolds: A Topical Review on Design, Processing, and Biocompatibility Properties

Porous scaffolds play a critical role in bone regeneration and therefore are widely being developed for various biomedical applications. Porosity and pore size, both at the macroscopic and microscopic levels, are important morphological characteristics of a biomaterial scaffold for bone regeneration. This chapter explores the state-of the-art knowledge on the fabrication of porous scaffolds and their physicomechanical behavior as well as in vitro and in vivo biological response in the context of their bone regeneration capabilities. The availability of a number of scaffold fabrication routes provides an opportunity to develop porous scaffolds of various biocompatible materials with different porosities, pore sizes, and mechanical properties. The chapter discusses mechanical as well as the in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility properties. It highlights some of the outstanding issues related to the future scaffold development to mimic the complex architecture of natural bone for better bone tissue regeneration.