A Comparative Study on the Morphology and In Vitro Behaviour of Biopolymers/Ceramic-based Scaffolds Obtained by Drying and Lyophilization Techniques

Tissue engineering, with its crucial components (cells, scaffold and signaling molecules), is still a challenging field, and choosing the suitable manufacturing technique for bone scaffolds is a crucial issue, as such materials should possess particular characteristics: biocompatibility, biodegradability, specific mechanical features and distinguishing porous structure. Lyophilization and thermal drying are frequently used by many researchers, being affordable, efficient in terms of time and easy to perform. In this study, scaffolds based on biopolymers, calcium phosphate and magnetite nanoparticles were prepared using separately, these two processing techniques, and evaluated, in terms of physico-chemical features and in vitro behaviour.