Table 1.

Performances of the materials analyzed based on six criteria: biomimetism, mechanical properties, biodegradability, ease of imaging, ability to perform histological sections for pre-clinical studies and sterilization process Materials are qualitatively ranked from -- (very bad properties) to +++ (excellent properties) based on the literature analysis.

Material	Examples	Biomimetism	Mechanical properties	Biodegradability	Imaging (µCT)	Histology	Sterilization process
Natural polymers	Collagen, HA, gelatin	+++	--	+++	+++	+++	Ethylene oxide[43,44]
Synthetic biodegradable polymers	PCL, PLGA, PLA	+	+	+++	+++	+++	UV,[56] γ-irradiation,[57] β-irradiation[59]
Synthetic non degradable polymers	PEEK, PEKK	+	+++	--	+++	+++	γ-irradiation[70]
Ceramics	HAP, TCP	+++	+/-	+	-	+	γ-irradiation[81]
Metals	Ti	++	++	--	+	-	Autoclaving[111,112]