3D Plotting of Calcium Phosphate Cement and Melt Electrowriting of Polycaprolactone Microfibers in One Scaffold: A Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Process

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

The fabrication of patient-specific scaffolds for bone substitutes is possible through extrusion-based 3D printing of calcium phosphate cements (CPC) which allows the generation of structures with a high degree of customization and interconnected porosity. Given the brittleness of this clinically approved material, the stability of open-porous scaffolds cannot always be secured. Herein, a multi-technological approach allowed the simultaneous combination of CPC printing with melt electrowriting (MEW) of polycaprolactone (PCL) microfibers in an alternating, tunable design in one automated fabrication process. The hybrid CPC+PCL scaffolds with varying CPC strand distance (800–2000 µm) and integrated PCL fibers featured a strong CPC to PCL interface. While no adverse effect on mechanical stiffness was detected by the PCL-supported scaffold design; the microfiber integration led to an improved integrity. The pore distance between CPC strands was gradually increased to identify at which critical CPC porosity the microfibers would have a significant impact on pore bridging behavior and growth of seeded cells. At a CPC strand distance of 1600 µm, after 2 weeks of cultivation, the incorporation of PCL fibers led to pore coverage by a human mesenchymal stem cell line and an elevated proliferation level of murine pre-osteoblasts. The integrated fabrication approach allows versatile design adjustments on different levels.

Details

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of functional biomaterials
Volume13
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 8 Jun 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85132179587
WOS 000816265600001
PubMed 35735931
Mendeley 64860c3c-041f-3680-9c2c-184cea2e5350
ORCID /0000-0001-9075-5121/work/142237832

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • 3D printing, Biomaterials, Bone cement, Melt electrowriting, Multi-material scaffolds, Polycaprolactone