Time-resolved X-ray tomography on the hybrid bone grafts’ freeze-casting formation process inducing a multiscale porosity and mechanical com

Maxillofacial surgeries require centimeters cube medical implants for bone reconstruction. Our aim is to study the mechanisms involved in the freeze-casting (FC) process used to form a new type of “bricks & mortar" composite from bioactive glass nanoparticles (bricks) functionalized with customized polymers (PDLLA, poly (lactic acid), mortar). Our proposal is to use in-situ X-ray phase contrast imaging at ID19: 1) To study the FC formation process. Cooling the solid/solution interface induces the growth of solvent crystals which forms bricks-mortar walls responsible for the bone grafts microporosity, while bubbles nucleation generate vertical air-channels resulting in the scaffold macropores; 2) To quantitatively assess how hierarchical pores formation governs the scaffolds’ mechanical properties, using a compression load cell.