Bone is one of the tissues in the body that shows high regeneration capacity, however, sometimes bone injuries are so extensive that spontaneous repair is not possible. The high vulnerability of bone tissues in various accidents has led to extensive research in the field of tissue engineering, focusing on bone tissues, which is based on the use of scaffolds to form three-dimensional bone tissues. The aim of this research is to prepare and characterize a bioactive and biodegradable scaffold of polycaprolactone/bioactive glass composite with silver using plasma surface modification. Bioactive glass bioceramic powders with 1, 2, and 3% silver were synthesized by sol-gel method. The non-cytotoxicity of the 1% silver composite was investigated using the MTT test. Also, for both bacteria (S. aureus and E. coli), no colonies were observed in the tubes containing the 1% silver composite sample. In this study, a polycaprolactone/bioactive glass composite scaffold containing silver was fabricated by a melt-blown 3D printer. The scaffolds under study were produced with 0, 10, 20, and 30% by weight of bioactive glass bioceramic. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was used. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used. Compression test was also eva‎luated as an indicator of the mechanical properties of the fabricated scaffolds. A water contact angle measuring device was used to examine the hydrophilicity of the scaffolds. Porosity of the scaffolds was also performed by the Archimedes method. Considering the mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, porosimetry, and printability of the scaffolds, the composition of 20% bioactive glass was selected as the optimal composition. In order to improve the surface properties of the scaffold, 20% plasma surface modification was performed. In order to investigate the bioactive properties, the scaffolds were immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution for 1, 2 and 3 weeks. The germination and growth of hydroxyapatite on the surface of the scaffolds were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to investigate the chemical structures and functional groups present in the scaffolds, and changes in the pH of the solution were also eva‎luated. The adsorption test was performed for the 20% modified and unmodified scaffolds. In order to investigate the biodegradability properties, the scaffolds were immersed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution for 1 and 2 months and the weight changes were measured. Immersion of the scaffolds in PBS solution showed that despite the plasma surface modification in the prepared scaffolds, the degradability of the scaffolds increased by 10%. Cell adhesion was also studied using scanning electron microscopy images. The formation of hydroxyapatite on the surface of the scaffolds confirmed the bioactivity of the fabricated composite, and the results showed that over time, the formed hydroxyapatites proliferated and grew. The results of the MTT test related to the culture of MG-63 osteoblast cells on the scaffolds confirmed the increased cell viability of the surface-modified groups. The results of this study showed that biodegradable and bioactive polycaprolactone/bioactive glass composite scaffolds could be good candidates for use in bone tissue engineering for bone regeneration and orthopedic applications.

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محمد خدائي

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