Customised properties of parts manufactured using the selective laser sintering process are achievable by variation of build parameters. The energy density, controlled by laser power, distance between scan lines and speed of the laser beam across the powder bed, all have a very strong influence on the density and the mechanical behaviour of the parts. The present paper investigates the influence of the energy density on physical and mechanical properties of parts produced using polyamide. Additionally, the effect of part orientation during the build is examined. Knowledge of the influence of these parameters allows one to establish trendlines which link build settings to resulting part properties, and hence to fabricate customised parts with predetermined properties.

In this paper, the use of the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process for the generation of bone tissue engineering scaffolds from PCL and PCL/TCP is explored. Different scaffold designs are generated and are assessed from the point of view of manufacturability, porosity and mechanical performance. Large scaffold specimens are generated, with a preferred design, and are assessed through an in vivo study in a critical size bone defect in the sheep tibia with subsequent microscopic, histological and mechanical evaluation. Further explorations are performed to generate scaffolds with increasing TCP contents.Scaffold fabrication from PCL and PCL/TCP mixtures with up to 50 mass-% TCP is shown to be possible. With increasing macroporosity the stiffness of the scaffolds is seen to drop, however, the stiffness can be increased by minor geometrical changes, such as the addition of a cage around the scaffold. In the animal study the selected scaffold for implantation did not perform as well as the TCP control in terms of new bone formation and the resulting mechanical performance of the defect area. A possible cause for this is presented.

Selective laser sintering (SLS) enables the fabrication of complex geometries with the intricate and controllable internal architecture required in the field of tissue engineering. In this study hydroxyapatite and poly--caprolactone, considered suitable for hard tissue engineering purposes, were used in a weight ratio of 30:70. The quality of the fabricated parts is influenced by various process parameters. Among them Four parameters, namely laser fill power, outline laser power, scan spacing and part orientation, were identified as important. These parameters were investigated according to a central composite design and a model of the effects of these parameters on the accuracy and mechanical properties of the fabricated parts was developed. The dimensions of the fabricated parts were strongly dependent on the manufacturing direction and scan spacing. Repeatability analysis shows that the fabricated features can be well reproduced. However, there were deviations from the nominal dimensions, with the features being larger than those designed. The compressive modulus and yield strength of the fabricated microstructures with a designed relative density of 0.33 varied between 0.6 and 2.3 and 0.1 and 0.6 MPa, respectively. The mechanical behavior was strongly dependent on the manufacturing direction.

A current challenge in bone tissue engineering is to create scaffolds with suitable mechanical properties, high porosity, full interconnectivity and suitable pore size. In this paper, polyamide and polycaprolactone scaffolds were fabricated using a solid free form technique known as selective laser sintering. These scaffolds had fully interconnected pores, minimized strut thickness, and a porosity of approximately 55%. Tensile and compression tests as well as finite element analysis were carried out on these scaffolds. It was found that the values predicted for the effective modulus by the FE model were much higher than the actual values obtained from experimental results. One possible explanation for this discrepancy, viz. the surface roughness of the scaffold and the presence of micropores in the scaffold struts, was investigated with a view to making recommendations on improving FE model configurations for accurate effective property predictions.3

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In this paper, a definition of a biomodel is presented, based on which different specific types of biomodels are identified, viz., virtual biomodels, computational biomodels, and physical biomodels. The paper then focuses on both physical and virtual biomodels of bone, and presents a review of model generation methodologies, giving examples of typical biomodel applications. The use of macroscale biomodels for such issues as the design and preclinical testing of surgical implants and preoperative planning is discussed. At the microscale, biomodels of trabecular bone are examined and the link with scaffolds for tissue engineering is established. Conclusions are drawn on the state of the art, and the major developments necessary for the continued expansion of the field are identified. Finally, arguments are given on the benefits of integrating the use of the different types of biomodels reviewed in this paper, for the benefit of future research in biomechanics and biomaterials.

Publication InformationDoyle, H., Lohfeld, S., McHugh, P.E. (2013) 'Predicting the elastic properties of selective laser sintered PCL/b-TCP bone scaffold materials using computational modelling'. Annals Of Biomedical Engineering, 42 (3):661-677. Publisher SpringerLink to publisher's version http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10439-013-0913-4Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/5524 DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0913-4Accepted manuscript, published in Annals of Biomedical Engineering 09/2013; 42(3), pp 661-677. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0913-4Title: Predicting the elastic properties of selective laser sintered PCL/β-TCP bone scaffold materials using computational modelling. AbstractThis study assesses the ability of finite element models to capture the mechanical behaviour of sintered orthopaedic scaffold materials. Individual scaffold struts were fabricated from a 50:50 wt% poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) /β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) blend, using selective laser sintering (SLS). The tensile elastic modulus of single struts was determined experimentally. High resolution finite element models of single struts were generated from micro-CT scans (28.8µm resolution) and an effective strut elastic modulus was calculated from tensile loading simulations. Three material assignment methods were employed: (1) homogeneous PCL elastic constants, (2) composite PCL/ β-TCP elastic constants based on rule of mixtures, and (3) heterogeneous distribution of micromechanically-determined elastic constants. In comparison with experimental results, the use of homogeneous PCL properties gave a good estimate of strut modulus; however it is not sufficiently representative of the real material as it neglects the β-TCP phase. The rule of mixtures method significantly overestimated strut modulus, while there was no significant difference between strut modulus evaluated using the micromechanically-determined elastic constants and experimentally evaluated strut modulus. These results indicate that the multi-scale approach of linking micromechancial modelling of the sintered scaffold material with macroscale modelling gives an accurate prediction of the mechanical behaviour of the sintered structure.Keywords: selective laser sintering; polycaprolactone, B-tricalcium phosphate; micromechanical modelling; bone tissue engineering; mechanical properties; finite element analysis.3 IntroductionThe purpose of bone tissue engineering scaffolds is to fill defects and support mechanical loading while providing a template on which new bone will form. The remodelling of native bone in response to mechanical loading occurs when cells convert mechanical stimuli to chemical signals to direct the formation of new tissue or resorption through mechanotransduction 30,44 . The mechanical stimuli that influence bone formation in vivo are a combination of both fluid shear over the cells 36,55 and mechanical loading of the cells 16,24,58 , therefore it is important to be able to acc...

Hydrogel surface properties can be modified to form bioactive interfaces to modulate the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. In this work, a hydrogel made of gelatin methacrylamide (GelMA) and alginate was designed and tested as a scaffold to control stem-cell osteogenic differentiation. The hydrogel's surface was treated with polydopamine (pDA) to create an adhesive layer for the adsorption of the osteoinductive drug dexamethasone (Dex). The presence of the pDA coating enhanced Dex adsorption and retention over 21 days. This effect resulted in a delay in the osteogenic differentiation of hASCs cultured on the hydrogel treated with a pDA layer.