A Basic Approach Toward the Development of Nanocomposite Magnetic Scaffolds for Advanced Bone Tissue Engineering R. De Santis, 1 A. Gloria, 1 T. Russo, 2 U. D’Amora, 1 S. Zeppetelli, 1 C. Dionigi, 3 A. Sytcheva, 4 T. Herrmannsdo ¨ rfer, 4 V. Dediu, 3 L. Ambrosio 1 1 Institute of Composite and Biomedical Materials, National Research Council, P. le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy 2 Department of Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples ‘‘Federico II,’’ P. le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy 3 Institute of Nanostructured Materials, National Research Council, Via P. Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy 4 Helmhotz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory (HLD), P.O.-Box 51 01 19, D-01314, Dresden, Germany Received 28 April 2011; accepted 28 April 2011 DOI 10.1002/app.34771 Published online 10 August 2011 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). ABSTRACT: Magnetic scaffolds for bone tissue engineer- ing based on a poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) matrix and iron oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) magnetic nanoparticles were designed and developed through a three-dimensional (3D) fiber-deposi- tion technique. PCL/Fe 3 O 4 scaffolds were characterized by a 90/10 w/w composition. Tensile and magnetic measure- ments were carried out, and nondestructive 3D imaging was performed through microcomputed tomography (Micro-CT). Furthermore, confocal analysis was under- taken to investigate human mesenchymal stem cell adhe- sion and spreading on the PCL/Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposite fibers. The results suggest that nanoparticles mechanically reinforced the PCL matrix; the elastic modulus and the maximum stress increased about 10 and 30%, respectively. However, the maximum strain decreased about 50%; this suggested an enhanced brittleness. Magnetic results evi- denced a superparamagnetic behavior for these nano- composite scaffolds. Micro-CT suggested an almost uniform distribution of nanoparticles. Confocal analysis highlighted interesting results in terms of cell adhesion and spreading. All of these results show that a magnetic feature could be incorporated into a polymeric matrix that could be processed to manufacture scaffolds for advanced bone tissue engineering and, thus, provide new opportunity in terms of scaffold fixation and functionaliza- tion. V C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 122: 3599– 3605, 2011 Key words: biocompatibility; polyesters; nanocomposites; nanoparticles INTRODUCTION Tissue engineering has been defined as a multidisci- plinary field that integrates principles of engineering and life sciences to develop biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function. 1 To achieve tissue regeneration, cell-based thera- pies, tissue-inducing factors, and biocompatible scaffolds have been investigated singularly and in combination. 2–15 The most promising approach involves the cell seeding of three-dimensional (3D) porous and biode- gradable scaffolds. In the design of scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, the main ambition is to reproduce the function of the natural extracellular matrix to pro- vide a temporary template for the growth of target tissues. 16 It is well known that a scaffold has to satisfy sev- eral requirements 16–18 and show a set of chemical, biochemical, and biophysical material properties that are able to control and promote specific events at the cellular and tissue levels. 19 In particular, with regard to hard tissue engineering, such as bone, it appears clear that scaffolds should possess suitable mechanical properties and architecture to play their specific role. Over the past years, great efforts have been made to develop technologies aimed at manufacturing scaffolds. In particular, the introduction of rapid prototyping technologies in the biomedical field has allowed for the division of scaffold fabrication tech- niques into two main groups, conventional and novel methods. 16,20,21 However, with conventional manufacturing tech- niques, the precise control of the internal morpho- logy and interconnectivity (i.e., pore size, pore ge- ometry, spatial distribution of pores, internal channels) is strongly limited. 20–23 Conversely, rapid prototyping can be considered as the main strategy able to produce customized scaffolds with a reproducible internal architecture. Correspondence to: R. De Santis (rosantis@unina.it). Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 122, 3599–3605 (2011) V C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.