The use of both bioglass (BG) and β tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) for bone replacement applications has been studied extensively due to the materials’ high biocompatibility and ability to resorb when implanted in the body. 3D printing has been explored as a fast and versatile technique for the fabrication of porous bone scaffolds. This project investigates the effects of using different combinations of a composite BG and β-TCP powder for 3D printing of porous bone scaffolds. Porous 3D powder printed bone scaffolds of BG, β-TCP, 50/50 BG/β-TCP and 70/30 BG/β-TCP compositions were subject to a variety of characterization and biocompatibility tests. The porosity characteristics, surface roughness, mechanical strength, viability for cell proliferation, material cytotoxicity and in vitro bioactivity were assessed. The results show that the scaffolds can support osteoblast-like MG-63 cells growth both on the surface of and within the scaffold material and do not show alarming cytotoxicity; the porosity and surface characteristics of the scaffolds are appropriate. Of the two tested composite materials, the 70/30 BG/β-TCP scaffold proved to be superior in terms of biocompatibility and mechanical strength. The mechanical strength of the scaffolds makes them unsuitable for load bearing applications. However, they can be useful for other applications such as bone fillers.

Background There are many studies on osteoarthritis, but only a few studies deal with human arthrosis, comparing the mechanical properties of healthy and diseased samples. In most of these studies, only isolated areas of the tibia are examined. There is currently only one study investigating the complete mapping of cartilage tissue but not the difference between instantaneous modulus (IM) in healthy and diseased samples. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the biomechanical and histological changes of articular cartilage in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Methods The study compared 25 tibiae with medial gonarthrosis and 13 healthy controls. The IM was determined by automated indentation mapping using a Mach-1 V500css testing machine. A grid was projected over the sample and stored so that all measurements could be taken at the same positions (100 ± 29 positions across the tibiae). This grid was then used to perform the thickness measurement using the needle method. Samples were then taken for histological examinations using a hollow milling machine. Then Giemsa and Safranin O staining were performed. In order to determine the degree of arthrosis according to histological criteria, the assessment was made with regard to Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) and AHO scores. Results A significant difference ( p < 0.05) could be observed in the measured IM between the controls with 3.43 ± 0.36 MPa and the samples with 2.09 ± 0.18 MPa. In addition, there was a significant difference in IM in terms of meniscus-covered and meniscus-uncovered areas. The difference in cartilage thickness between 2.25 ± 0.11 mm controls and 2.0 ± 0.07 mm samples was highly significant with p < 0.001. With regard to the OARSI and AHO scores, the samples differed significantly from the controls. The OARSI and AHO scores showed a significant difference between meniscus-covered and meniscus-uncovered areas. Conclusions The controls showed significantly better viscoelastic behavior than the arthrotic samples in the measured IM. The measured biomechanical values showed a direct correlation between histological changes and altered biomechanics in gonarthrosis.

The aim of this study was to predefine the pore structure of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) scaffolds with different macro pore sizes (500, 750, and 1000 µm), to characterize β-TCP scaffolds, and to investigate the growth behavior of cells within these scaffolds. The lead structures for directional bone growth (sacrificial structures) were produced from polylactide (PLA) using the fused deposition modeling techniques. The molds were then filled with β-TCP slurry and sintered at 1250 °C, whereby the lead structures (voids) were burnt out. The scaffolds were mechanically characterized (native and after incubation in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 28 d). In addition, biocompatibility was investigated by live/dead, cell proliferation and lactate dehydrogenase assays. The scaffolds with a strand spacing of 500 µm showed the highest compressive strength, both untreated (3.4 ± 0.2 MPa) and treated with simulated body fluid (2.8 ± 0.2 MPa). The simulated body fluid reduced the stability of the samples to 82% (500), 62% (750) and 56% (1000). The strand spacing and the powder properties of the samples were decisive factors for stability. The fact that β-TCP is a biocompatible material is confirmed by the experiments. No lactate dehydrogenase activity of the cells was measured, which means that no cytotoxicity of the material could be detected. In addition, the proliferation rate of all three sizes increased steadily over the test days until saturation. The cells were largely adhered to or within the scaffolds and did not migrate through the scaffolds to the bottom of the cell culture plate. The cells showed increased growth, not only on the outer surface (e.g., 500: 36 ± 33 vital cells/mm² after three days, 180 ± 33 cells/mm² after seven days, and 308 ± 69 cells/mm² after 10 days), but also on the inner surface of the samples (e.g., 750: 49 ± 17 vital cells/mm² after three days, 200 ± 84 cells/mm² after seven days, and 218 ± 99 living cells/mm² after 10 days). This means that the inverse 3D printing method is very suitable for the presetting of the pore structure and for the ingrowth of the cells. The experiments on which this work is based have shown that the fused deposition modeling process with subsequent slip casting and sintering is well suited for the production of scaffolds for bone replacement.

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.

Introduction The use of scaffolds in tissue engineering is becoming increasingly important as solutions need to be found to preserve human tissues such as bone or cartilage. Various factors, including cells, biomaterials, cell and tissue culture conditions, play a crucial role in tissue engineering. The in vivo environment of the cells exerts complex stimuli on the cells, thereby directly influencing cell behavior, including proliferation and differentiation. Therefore, to create suitable replacement or regeneration procedures for human tissues, the conditions of the cells’ natural environment should be well mimicked. Therefore, current research is trying to develop 3-dimensional scaffolds (scaffolds) that can elicit appropriate cellular responses and thus help the body regenerate or replace tissues. In this work, scaffolds were printed from the biomaterial polycaprolactone (PCL) on a 3D bioplotter. Biocompatibility testing was used to determine whether the printed scaffolds were suitable for use in tissue engineering. Material and Methods An Envisiontec 3D bioplotter was used to fabricate the scaffolds. For better cell-scaffold interaction, the printed polycaprolactone scaffolds were coated with type-I collagen. Three different cell types were then cultured on the scaffolds and various tests were used to investigate the biocompatibility of the scaffolds. Results Reproducible scaffolds could be printed from polycaprolactone. In addition, a coating process with collagen was developed, which significantly improved the cell-scaffold interaction. Biocompatibility tests showed that the PCL-collagen scaffolds are suitable for use with cells. The cells adhered to the surface of the scaffolds and as a result extensive cell growth was observed on the scaffolds. The inner part of the scaffolds, however, remained largely uninhabited. In the cytotoxicity studies, it was found that toxicity below 20% was present in some experimental runs. The determination of the compressive strength by means of the universal testing machine Z005 by ZWICK according to DIN EN ISO 604 of the scaffolds resulted in a value of 68.49 ± 0.47 MPa.