Composite biomedical foams for engineering bone tissue

The regeneration of extended bone defects is a serious concern and the number of patients affected by bone diseases is ever increasing. The continuous progress in materials science and nanotechnology is providing novel approaches to developing new porous materials with structures that are able to mimic the morphological and mechanical features of bone, thus achieving improved assistance to the regenerative processes. This chapter provides an overview of the technologies that have recently been developed for use in manufacturing porous ceramics and composites for bone scaffolding, including the new biomorphic processes that, by transforming ligneous sources into hierarchically organized hydroxyapatite, may provide solutions to assist the regeneration of long segmental bones.