ICAM 2009 Scaffolds of poly (e-caprolactone) with whiskers of hydroxyapatite G. B. C. Cardoso • S. L. F. Ramos • A. C. D. Rodas • O. Z. Higa • C. A. C. Zavaglia • A. C. F. Arruda Received: 18 November 2009 / Accepted: 27 February 2010 / Published online: 18 March 2010 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 Abstract Scaffolds of Poly (e-caprolactone)/hydroxyap- atite were produced and studied for tissue engineering applications. The materials were selected due to its biode- gradability (PCL) and bioactivity (HA), and above all their biocompatibility toward the human tissue. The composites produced were characterized by SEM, XRD, and EDS. By analyzing these characterizations it was possible to obtain further information about the composition and morphology aspects of all portions of the composite scaffold. Introduction Along with the great advances of medicine, in terms of development of new and more specific drugs, and the dis- covery of chemical interactions and cell regeneration capabilities, came the need to develop novel materials for medical usage. They are meant to act in many ways, such as: drug delivery systems, mechanical support, cell regenera- tion platforms, replacement of specialized tissues, healing assistance, and even cosmetic correction. Given this point of view, it is easy to infer that to develop these fully functional materials, one must comprehend a vast field of knowledge or collaborate with several different specialties, since this involves areas of Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Medi- cine, Biology, and Material Science. More specifically, due to the high quantity of accidents, defects, and diseases that affect the human bone structure, intensive research has been dedicated to this matter. A great variety of materials and processes was developed or adapted so that substitute materials and engineered tissues of sufficiently high fidelity can be produced to help address the growing problem of bone tissue and organ failure. Poly (e-caprolactone) (PCL), is a biodegradable and bioreabsorbable polymer which has a good biocompati- bility, and it is approved by the Food and Drug Adminis- tration (FDA) as a biomaterial. This polymer has been used in many researches, above all, in tissue engineering, because of its success in the last years, and its easy pro- cessability and formulation with respect to the traditional biocompatible metal or ceramic implants [1, 2]. Scaffolds are manmade three-dimensional structures utilized as supports for cell growth and proliferation. These structures are very particular and very difficult to be pro- duced, once it must attend several properties, mainly mechanical and chemical, that are specific to the tissue to be treated. According to the tissue that these scaffolds must attend, they have a slight alteration on the main properties required. Specifically for bone engineering applications, the ideal scaffold must be biocompatible to the human fluids and tissue, osteoinductive, osteoconductive, and mechanically compatible with the native bone. These are the properties that will provide cellular anchorage sites, mechanical stability, and structural guidance to the new developed tissue [3]. G. B. C. Cardoso (&) Á S. L. F. Ramos Á C. A. C. Zavaglia Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, State University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-860, Brazil e-mail: guicardoso@fem.unicamp.br A. C. D. Rodas Á O. Z. Higa Center of Biotechnology, IPEN, Sa ˜o Paulo 05508-000, Brazil A. C. F. Arruda Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, State University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-860, Brazil 123 J Mater Sci (2010) 45:4990–4993 DOI 10.1007/s10853-010-4363-1