Effect of different MgFe₂O₄ contents on 3D gel‐printed porous TCP–MgFe₂O₄ composite scaffolds

Abstract

Magnetic materials have shown significant influence in the process of bone regeneration. In order to combine the bone repairing capability of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) ceramic with magnetic material, porous TCP-MgFe 2 O 4 composite scaffolds were successfully prepared by three-dimensional (3D) gel-printing technology, and the effect of different MgFe 2 O 4 contents on TCP-MgFe 2 O 4 composite scaffolds was studied. The viscosity of printing slurry prepared with polyvinyl alcohol as binder decreased with the increase of shear rate, showing shear thinning. Results show that following with MgFe 2 O 4 content increasing from 30 to 70 wt%, the compressive strength of the composite scaffolds increased from 8.45 to 10.58 MPa, the saturation magnetization increased from 3.07 to 7.20 emu/g, and the weight loss rate of degradation in vitro increased from 1.83% to 2.1% after 4 weeks, respectively. Live and dead staining shows that MC3T3-E1 cells had better proliferation on TCP-MgFe 2 O 4 composite scaffolds than TCP scaffolds. Compared with pure TCP scaffolds, the addition of MgFe 2 O 4 improves the comprehensive performance of scaffolds and meets the application requirements of bone repairing.