Fig. 1

Characterization of β-TCP scaffolds. a Negative mold used for wax casting during production of the different β-TCP scaffold geometries. b Macroscopic view of the β-TCP scaffolds. c SEM view of the β-TCP scaffolds. d Schematic illustration of the long-term cultures consisting of three main components: mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs; pink), β-TCP (blue), and collagen I/III (green). e Table of porosites. f Cell morphology and cell spreading on scaffolds analyzed by SEM. g Release of calcium (Ca²⁺) and phosphate (PO₄ ³⁻) to the culture supernatant. Concentrations were measured in the supernatants of β-TCP cultures at days 3, 11, and 21 after the beginning of the culture. Concentrations were normalized to 1 at day 3 and are presented in mmol/L. Results depict mean ± SD of three independent experiments