Modelling and Tissue Engineering of Three Layers of Calvarial Bone as a Biomimetic Scaffold Fatemeh Hosseinnejad 1,2a , Abbas Ali Imani Fooladi 3b , Forough Hafezi 1,2c , Soroush Mohit Mafi 4d , Afsaneh Amiri 2e and Mohammad Reza Nourani 1f* 1 Division of Tissue Engineering, Chemical Injury Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2 Department of Chemistry, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran 3 Applied Microbiology Research Centre, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4 Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran. a fatemeh_hossiennejad@yahoo.com; b imanifouladi.a@gmail.com; c hafezi_forough@yahoo.com; d Smohitmafi@yahoo.com; e afsaamiri@gmail.com; f * r.nourani@yahoo.com Keywords: Tissue Engineering, Calvarial Bone, Biomimetic, Scaffold Abstract: In this study, a New Zealand rabbit parietal bone was cross-sectioned, and parameters such as entire thickness and the thicknesses of the compact and spongy tables were morphometrically measured by ImageJ software. The pore size of the cancellous table was also analysed, and a calvarial bone model was created. Based upon a natural model for bone repair, a nano-structured scaffold was designed using bioglass and gelatin (BG) as its main components. The scaffold was prepared using layer solvent casting combined with freeze-drying, layering techniques, and other commonly used techniques. The fabricated BG scaffolds were made with different percentages of nanoparticles, and the 10% and 30% constructions were found to be respectively similar to compact and spongy bone. We fabricated three lamellar scaffolds with two compact layers on the outside and one spongy layer in the middle to mimic the composition and structure of natural bone. The chemical, physical, and biological tests (including Cell Seeding on Scaffold and MTT assay) that evaluated this scaffold examined its capacity to promote bone repair. Fabricated scaffolds implanted in rabbit calvaria and evaluated the bone repair by X-ray. This mimetic BG scaffold could be an excellent candidate for a synthetic calvarial bone graft. INTRODUCTION Cranial defects frequently result from traumatic, congenital, infectious or surgical injuries. The calvarium is the dome-shaped part of the skull that protects the brain. It is formed by the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal bones. The bones of the calvarium morphologically consist of outer and inner layers of compact bone separated by cancellous bone [1]. The cancellous layer is sandwiched between the two compact bone layers, as shown in Figure 1. In terms of modelling, three layers of thickness are important variables to consider when carrying out biomechanical modelling of the skull. This has become an interesting venue for research [2]. Methods described to repair this bony defect include the use of allografts, autografts, or bone graft substitutes. Although autogenous bone has been regarded as the gold standard for repair of bony defects, difficulties of harvesting autogenous bone include morbidity at the secondary surgical site and limitations in the quantity of bone available for harvesting. Surgeons, scientists, and engineers have been trying to develop new techniques to improve bone growth and bone repair. Progress in tissue engineered scaffolds may provide solutions to overcome these limitations [3-6]. Journal of Biomimetics, Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering Vol. 15 (2012) pp 37-53 Online available since 2012/Oct/08 at www.scientific.net © (2012) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/JBBTE.15.37 All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of TTP, www.ttp.net. (ID: 2.177.3.37-10/11/12,07:13:07)