Bioglass-polymer composite scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration: a review of current trends

Biocompatible and bioactive composite scaffolds are essential in bone tissue regeneration because of their bioactivity and multilevel porous assemblies. There is a high demand for three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds to treat bone regeneration defects, trauma, and congenital skeletal abnormalities in the current scenario. The main objective of this review is to collect all the possible information concerning synthetic and natural polymer-Bioglass (BG)-based scaffold materials and systematically present them to summarize the importance and need for these materials. The importance of the bone tissue engineering field has been highlighted. Given the current challenges, a comprehensive description of materials fabrication and patterns in scaffold structures is required. This review also includes the most crucial aspect of this study: why are polymeric materials mixed with BG materials? Individually, both BG and polymeric materials lack specific essential characteristics to enhance the scope of these materials. However, preparing the composites of both ensures the researchers that composites of polymers and BG have improved properties that make them versatile materials for bone tissue engineering applications. This study deals with the individual drawbacks of the inorganic BGs, synthetic polymers, and the deficiencies of natural polymers. This study has also included a brief description of various scaffold fabricating techniques. Finally, this study revealed that by manufacturing and developing novel composite materials-scaffolds bearing the capability to repair, heal, and regenerate accidentally damaged or badly injured bones, many occasional problems can be solved in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, this review demonstrated that natural polymeric materials present many advantages over synthetic bone grafts. Yet, synthetic biomaterials have one additional attractive feature, as they have the flexibility to be designed according to the desired demands. These features make them the best choice for a wide range of bone tissue engineering projects for orthopedic surgeons.