Synthesis, characterization and strengthening mechanism of modified and unmodified porous diopside/baghdadite scaffolds

In recent decades, porous silica-based bioceramic scaffolds have received great attention for treatment of bone defects. One of the main drawbacks of these scaffolds is their inherent brittle nature and high degradation rate. Recently, using bioactive and biodegradable polymer coatings on the surface of scaffolds improves their mechanical properties and the ability to control their degradation rate. In this work, highly porous diopside/baghdadite composite scaffolds with and without surface modification were prepared by space holder method. Compressive strength, compressive modules, porosity and the pore size of the different scaffolds with different diopside contents were in the range of 0.28–1.33 MPa, 15.35–155 MPa, 64–78%, and 300–500 μm, respectively. The results showed that applying a PCLF cross-linked polymer coating on the scaffolds improved their compressive strength and modulus from 1.09 ± 0.1 and 139.3 ± 1.1 to 1.63 ± 0.2 and 189.1 ± 1 MPa, respectively. A negligible reduction in porosity and pore size was observed.