Development of a novel self-crosslinkable poly (caprolactone fumarate) as a biodegradable and injectable scaffold for bone tissue engineering

A novel self-crosslinkable and biodegradable macromer has been developed for guided bone regeneration. This macromer is a copolymer of fumaryl chloride, which contains double bonds for in situ crosslinking, and poly(e-caprolactone) that has a flexible chain to facilitate self-crosslinkability. This novel poly(caprolactone fumarate) (PCLF) was characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography. Porous scaffolds were fabricated with sodium chloride particles as the porogen and a chemical initiation system. The PCLF scaffolds were characterized with scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography. The PCLF copolymer was successfully self-crosslinked without the use of a crosslinking agent. This novel copolymer is potentially useful as an injectable self-crosslinkable material to treat skeletal defects.