Reticulated Vitreous Carbon Foams from Sucrose: Promising Materials for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) foams have shown favorable biocompatibility and the potential to support osteoblastic adhesion. In this work, RVC foams were fabricated via template route, using a low-cost sucrose-based resin. The effect of several process parameters, such as template porosity (cell size between 500 and 1400 µm) and carbonization conditions, were studied. The resulting RVC foams displayed highly interconnected porosity (> 85%) with controllable cell size, bone-like morphology, and compressive strength of 0.06–0.26 MPa. The results suggested that the decrease in the cell size of the sacrificial sponge, the increase in the thickness of the sponge cell ligaments, and the carbonization temperature of 1500 °C, contributed to the enhancement of the mechanical response of the fabricated scaffolds. Finally, cytotoxicity and cell adhesion assays were carried out using normal human osteoblasts as a preliminary assessment of the cytocompatibility of the synthesized RVC foams. Although the mechanical strength of these foams could still be improved, these results contribute towards the development of low-cost bioactive scaffolds that resemble the morphological properties of the trabecular bone. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].