Multi-phased, biodegradable and osteointegrative composite scaffold for biological fixation of musculoskeletal soft tissue to bone

A scaffold apparatus for soft tissue-to-bone interface tissue engineering comprising:

• a first region comprising composite microspheres of a first size and composition optimized to promote growth, proliferation, and differentiation of a first cell type for integration and growth of a first tissue type;
• a second region joined to the first region, said second region comprising microspheres and/or a fibrous mesh, said microspheres and/or fibrous mesh having a second size and a second composition;
• a third region joined to the second region, said third region comprising microspheres and/or a fibrous mesh, said microspheres and/or fibrous mesh having a third size and a third composition, and said second and third regions being optimized to promote growth, proliferation and differentiation of a second cell type for integration and formation of a second tissue type;
• and
• a fourth region joined to the third region, said fourth region comprising at least one of a microsphere and a fibrous mesh, said one of a microsphere and a fibrous mesh having a composition adapted to promote growth, proliferation, and differentiation of a third cell type for integration and growth of a third tissue type.

A multi-phased scaffold apparatus for providing a functional interface between bone and soft tissue, comprising:

• microspheres as one phase of the scaffold;
• and
• a mesh as another phase of the scaffold,
• wherein the microspheres and the mesh are sintered or solvent casted together.

A method for preparing a scaffold for musculoskeletal tissue engineering, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) processing a plurality of microspheres, including incorporating calcium phosphate into the microspheres;
• (b) laying the microspheres processed in step (a) in a mold, the microspheres in the mold presenting a gradient of microsphere sizes and/or compositions;
• and
• (c) sintering together the microspheres in the mold above a glass transition temperature.

A method for preparing a multi-phase scaffold for musculoskeletal tissue engineering, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) processing a plurality of microspheres, including incorporating at least one of calcium phosphate and bioactive glass into the microspheres;
• (b) laying the microspheres processed in step (a) in a mold, wherein the microspheres in the mold presenting a gradient of microsphere sizes for a first phase and a second phase of the multi-phase scaffold, with microspheres of the first phase being in a first range of sizes, and with microspheres of the second phase being in a second range of sizes larger than the first range of sizes;
• (c) sintering together the microspheres in the mold above a glass transition temperature;
• and
• (d) attaching a fiber mesh, as a third phase of the multi-phase scaffold, onto the microsphere construct prepared in step (c).

A method for preparing a multi-phase scaffold for musculoskeletal tissue engineering, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) forming a mesh scaffold by sintering together a plurality of mesh segments as a first phase of the multi-phase scaffold;
• (b) forming a second scaffold by sintering together a plurality of poly-lactide-co-glycolide microspheres as a second phase of the multi-phase scaffold;
• and
• (c) forming a third scaffold by sintering together a plurality of microspheres formed of a composite of poly-lactide-co-glycolide and bioactive glass as a third phase of the multi-phase scaffold;
• and
• (d) sintering together said mesh scaffold, said second scaffold and said third scaffold.