Hydroxyapatite/Polyurethane Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Impact statementDevelopment of biomaterials with enhanced mechanical attributes, excellent bioactivity, and biocompatibility to meet the requirements of human bone tissue repair or replacement has become popular in biomedical engineering. In this review, Polyurethane (PU) combined with hydroxyapatite (HA) is discussed as a composite material for bone tissue engineering. Several performance analyses proved that the HA/PU nanocomposite scaffold material could be used for bone tissue engineering repair. Polyurethane (PU) and PU ceramic scaffolds are the principal materials investigated for developing synthetic bone materials due to their excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. PU has been combined with calcium phosphate (such as hydroxyapatite [HA] and tricalcium phosphate) to prepare scaffolds with enhanced mechanical properties and biocompatibility. This article reviews the latest progress in the design, synthesis, modification, and biological attributes of HA/PU scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Diverse HA/PU scaffolds have been proposed and discussed in terms of their osteogenic, antimicrobial, biocompatibility, and bioactivities. The application progress of HA/PU scaffolds in bone tissue engineering is predominantly introduced, including bone repair, bone defect filling, drug delivery, and long-term implants.