Poly-L-lactide/sodium alginate/chitosan microsphere hybrid scaffolds made with braiding manufacture and adhesion technique: Solution to the incongruence between porosity and compressive strength.

Bone scaffolds require a three-dimensional structure, high porosity, interconnected pores, adequate mechanical strengths, and non-toxicity. A high porosity is incongruent with mechanical strengths. Therefore, this study combines a braiding method and microsphere solution to create bone scaffolds with a high porosity and sufficient mechanical strengths. First, poly-L-lactide (PLLA) plied yarns are braided into 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-, and 25-layer hollow braids, and then thermally treated at 165 °C for various durations. Next, sodium alginate (SA) microspheres, cross-linked with CaCl2 solution with various concentrations, are combined with PLLA porous braided bone scaffolds to form PLLA/SA/CS microsphere hybrid scaffolds, which are then observed for surface observation, and tested for porosity, water contact angle, compressive strength, MTT assay, bioactivity, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay, cell attachment, and statistical analyses. The test results show that the layer amount of the bone scaffold is proportional to the compressive strength. With the same number of layers, the compressive strength is inversely proportional to the concentration of the CaCl2 solution. The results of surface observation, porosity, and water contact angle tests show that PLLA/SA/CS microsphere hybrid scaffolds possess a high porosity and good hydrophilicity; as a result, the braiding manufacture and the bonding technique effectively solve the confliction between porosity and mechanical strength. The concentration of CaCl2 does not pertain to cell activity and ALP results, exemplified by good cell attachment on bone scaffolds for each specification.