Research Article
Synthesis and Characterization of Hierarchical Mesoporous-Macroporous TiO2-ZrO2 Nanocomposite Scaffolds for Cancellous Bone Tissue Engineering Applications
Figure 5
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of sample S13Zr as the optimized sample (S13Zr) sintered at 550°C for 2 h: (a) the general shape of the scaffold which shows the favorable structural integrity, (b) acceptable pore morphology and pore size (no crack can be observed), (c) desirable size of mesopores which are the best space to insert nutrients to be used by cells in order to proliferate and grow into the scaffold, and (d) strong pore wall which exhibits nice interconnectivity and strong structure for each macropore to mimic the natural bone tissue structure.
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