Synergistic Effects of Beta Tri‐Calcium Phosphate and Porcine‐Derived Decellularized Bone Extracellular Matrix in 3D‐Printed Polycaprolactone Scaffold on Bone Regeneration

Abstract

Bone-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) is widely used in studies on bone regeneration because of its ability to provide a microenvironment of native bone tissue. However, a hydrogel, which is a main type of ECM application, is limited to use for bone graft substitutes due to relative lack of mechanical properties. The present study aims to fabricate a scaffold for guiding effective bone regeneration. A polycaprolactone (PCL)/beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP)/bone decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) scaffold capable of providing physical and physiological environment are fabricated using 3D printing technology and decoration method. PCL/β-TCP/bone dECM scaffolds exhibit excellent cell seeding efficiency, proliferation, and early and late osteogenic differentiation capacity in vitro. In addition, outstanding results of bone regeneration are observed in PCL/β-TCP/bone dECM scaffold group in the rabbit calvarial defect model in vivo. These results indicate that PCL/β-TCP/bone dECM scaffolds have an outstanding potential as bone graft substitutes for effective bone regeneration.

3D printed polymer–mineral composite biomaterials for bone tissue engineering: Fabrication and characterization

“…Different printing technologies were used to develop 3D scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications (Table ). Fused Deposition Modeling was the most frequently used printing technology as it was employed in 38 studies (Figure ) . Low‐temperature deposition manufacturing was used in 11 studies, selective laser sintering in seven studies, Stereolitography in three studies …”

“…PCL, PLA, and PLGA were the most used polymers. PCL was the most used polymer as it was found in 29 articles . PLA was used in 13 studies and PLGA in 14 studies .…”

“…Several minerals can be used to increase polymer bioactivity. TCP was the most frequent and it was used in 32 studies . HA was the second most used mineral, in its non‐modified form in 25 studies, its carbonated form in two studies, its sintered form in one study or just as an apatite coating in two studies .…”

“…X‐ray diffraction (XRD) was used in three studies and was also used to collect information about crystallinity . Energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX) was found in eight studies . Kutikov et al also used EDX to map elemental composition on surface .…”

“…Mechanical properties of the materials are some of the most important parameters to evaluate. Usually, these characteristics were evaluated by compression tests in 27 studies, but also by tensile and flexural tests, in five and three studies, respectively. In one article, mechanical properties were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) .…”