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The authors report on the manufacturing of mechanically stable β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) structural hybrid scaffolds via the combination of additive manufacturing (CerAM VPP) and Freeze Foaming for engineering a potential bone replacement. In the first step, load bearing support structures were designed via FE simulation and 3D printed by CerAM VPP. In the second step, structures were foamed-in with a porous and degradable calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramic that mimics porous spongiosa. For this purpose, Fraunhofer IKTS used a process known as Freeze Foaming, which allows the foaming of any powdery material and the foaming-in into near-net-shape structures. Using a joint heat treatment, both structural components fused to form a structural hybrid. This bone construct had a 25-fold increased compressive strength compared to the pure CaP Freeze Foam and excellent biocompatibility with human osteoblastic MG-63 cells when compared to a bone grafting Curasan material for benchmark.

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Freeze foaming is a method to manufacture cellular ceramic scaffolds with a hierarchical porous structure. These so-called freeze foams are predestined for the use as bone replacement material because of their internal bone-like structure and biocompatibility. On the one hand, they consist of macrostructural foam cells which are formed by the expansion of gas inside the starting suspension. On the other hand, a porous microstructure inside the foam struts is formed during freezing and subsequent freeze drying of the foamed suspension. The aim of this work is to investigate for the first time the formation of macrostructure and microstructure separately depending on the composition of the suspension and the pressure reduction rate, by means of appropriate characterization methods for the different pore size ranges. Moreover, the foaming behavior itself was characterized by in-situ radiographical and computed tomography (CT) evaluation. As a result, it could be shown that it is possible to tune the macro- and microstructure separately with porosities of 49–74% related to the foam cells and 10–37% inside the struts.

Freeze Foaming is a direct foaming method that aims at manufacturing ceramic cellular scaffolds for diverse applications. Next to porous structures for a potential use as refractories, the focus lies on potential bone replacement material. The main challenge of this foaming method is to achieve a homogeneous and predictable pore morphology. That is why, in a current project, the authors report on the pore morphology formation and evolution of the foaming process by means of nondestructive testing. This contribution primarily compares the effect of the suspension’s temperature on the resulting foam structure (foaming at 5 and 40 °C). As a basis for computed tomographic analysis, a stable and reproducible model suspension was developed that resulted in reproducible foam structures. Characterized by viscosity, foam structure analyses and foaming rate, the resulting Freeze Foams became adjustable with regards to their porosity and pore shape/size. Under certain conditions, we succeeded in achieving a relatively homogeneous pore structure, as proven by computed tomography-derived quantitative analysis.