Table 1.
The materials, examples, advantages, and disadvantages of scaffolds in BTE [4].
| Bone Grafting Materials | Examples | Advantages | Disadvantages | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polymers | Natural | Protein: collagen, fibrin, silk fibrin | Biodegradability | Low mechanical strength |
| Polysaccharides: hyaluronic acid, chitosan | Biocompatibility | High rates of degradation | ||
| Bacterially synthesized poly: polyhydroxyalkanoate | Bioactivity | High batch to batch variation | ||
| Unlimited source (some of them) | ||||
| Synthetic | Poly-glycolic acid (PGA) | Biodegradability | Low mechanical strength | |
| Poly-lactic acid (PLA) | Biocompatibility | High local concentration of acidic degradation products | ||
| Poly-(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) | Versatility | |||
| Poly-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (poly-HEMA) | ||||
| Poly-ε- caprolactone (PCL) | ||||
| Poly-etylene-glycol (PEG) | ||||
| Ceramics | Calcium-phosphate | Coralline or synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA) | Biocompatibility | Brittleness |
| Silicate-substituted HA | Biodegradability | Low fracture strength | ||
| β-Tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) | Bioactivity | Degradation rates difficult to predict | ||
| Dicalcium phosphate dehydrate (DCPD) | Osteoconductivity | |||
| Bioglasses and glass-ceramics | Silicate bioactive glasses | Osteoinductivity (subject to structural and chemical properties) | ||
| Borate/borosilicate bioactive glasses | ||||
| Others | Alumina ceramic (Al2O3) | |||
| Metals | Titanium and its alloys | Excellent mechanical properties (high strength and wear resistance, ductility) | Lack of tissue adherence | |
| Tantalum | Biocompatibility | Corrosion | ||
| Stainless steel | Risk of toxicity due to release of metal ions | |||
| Magnesium and its alloys | ||||
| Composites | Calcium-phosphate coatings on metals | Combination of the above | Combination of the above | |
| HA/poly-(D,L-lactide) | ||||
| HA/chitosan-gelatin | ||||