Fabrication and evaluation of 3D printed BCP scaffolds reinforced with ZrO₂ for bone tissue applications

Abstract

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a promising 3D printing and manufacturing step to create well interconnected porous scaffold designs from the computer-aided design (CAD) models for the next generation of bone scaffolds. The purpose of this study was to fabricate and evaluate a new biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffold reinforced with zirconia (ZrO ) by a FDM system for bone tissue engineering. The 3D slurry foams with blending agents were successfully fabricated by a FDM system. Blending materials were then removed after the sintering process at high temperature to obtain a targeted BCP/ZrO scaffold with the desired pore characteristics, porosity, and dimension. Morphology of the sintered scaffold was investigated with SEM/EDS mapping. A cell proliferation test was carried out and evaluated with osteosarcoma MG-63 cells. Mechanical testing and cell proliferation evaluation demonstrated that 90% BCP and 10% ZrO scaffold had a significant effect on the mechanical properties maintaining a structure compared that of only 100% BCP with no ZrO . Additionally, differentiation studies of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on BCP/ZrO scaffolds in static and dynamic culture conditions showed increased expression of bone morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2) when cultured on BCP/ZrO scaffolds under dynamic conditions compared to on BCP control scaffolds. The manufacturing of BCP/ZrO scaffolds through this innovative technique of a FDM may provide applications for various types of tissue regeneration, including bone and cartilage.

Selective laser melted Fe-Mn bone scaffold: microstructure, corrosion behavior and cell response

“…Such a high level of process flexibility enable it can directly fabricate complex internal structures and customized shapes. Up to now, AM has been applied to prepare bone scaffolds from various materials, including metals [12][13][14], polymers [15][16][17] and ceramics [18][19][20], even their composites [21][22][23]. Among them, metal bone scaffolds are most promising for load-bearing bone repair [24].…”

Direct Ink Writing Technology (3D Printing) of Graphene-Based Ceramic Nanocomposites: A Review

“…Despite this, thanks to the successful development of this technology and material science, the mechanical properties of parts obtained by FDM are now comparable with other processing routes [137]. This is why the application of FDM for ceramic production is successfully expanding into various fields as electronic components [138], biological parts [139], sensors [140], bioceramic scaffolds [141][142][143][144][145], and others [146,147].…”

Mechanobiological Approach to Design and Optimize Bone Tissue Scaffolds 3D Printed with Fused Deposition Modeling: A Feasibility Study

“…A recent study proposed a numerical model to simulate the extrusion of a strand of semi-molten material to investigate how the strand cross-section changes for variable process parameters [25]. The porosity and the micro-architecture of parts built with the FDM technique appear very suited to stimulate the colonization and subsequent differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells [26].…”