Scaffolds for bone-tissue engineering

Due to a prolonged life expectancy, the number of orthopedic-related fractures and pathologies is increasing, leading to a tremendous demand for efficient orthopedic treatment. Consequently, bone-tissue engineering (BTE) has been developed to provide the innovative solution of using scaffolds to regenerate bone tissue. To fabricate an ideal scaffold, it is important to consider the characteristics of biomaterials and the biomechanical properties of the scaffold for structural restoration and tissue regeneration. Herein, an overview is provided on the properties of an ideal scaffold such as stiffness, pore size, surface topology, and load-bearing capacity. In addition, we categorized biomaterials for BTE scaffolds into four groups, ceramic, metal, natural polymer, and synthetic polymer, and elaborate on relevant mechanical and biological aspects of representative biomaterials from each group. Furthermore, we reviewed and highlighted recent advances in scaffolds that have been developed in the past 10 years in BTE.