3D printing of hierarchical porous biomimetic hydroxyapatite scaffolds: Adding concavities to the convex filaments

Porosity plays a key role on the osteogenic performance of bone scaffolds. Direct Ink Writing (DIW) allows the design of customized synthetic bone grafts with patient-specific architecture and controlled macroporosity. Being an extrusion-based technique, the scaffolds obtained are formed by arrays o...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Konka, Joanna Magdalena|||0000-0001-6593-8532, Buxadera Palomero, Judit|||0000-0003-0897-2093, Español Pons, Montserrat|||0000-0001-7510-0602, Ginebra Molins, Maria Pau|||0000-0002-4700-5621
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/355149
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/355149
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2021.07.071
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Hydroxyapatite
Bone regeneration
Three-dimensional printing
3D printing
Gelatin
Biomimetic
Concavity
Porous filament
Hidroxiapatita
Ossos--Regeneració
Impressió 3D
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria dels materials
Descripción
Sumario:Porosity plays a key role on the osteogenic performance of bone scaffolds. Direct Ink Writing (DIW) allows the design of customized synthetic bone grafts with patient-specific architecture and controlled macroporosity. Being an extrusion-based technique, the scaffolds obtained are formed by arrays of cylindrical filaments, and therefore have convex surfaces. This may represent a serious limitation, as the role of surface curvature and more specifically the stimulating role of concave surfaces in osteoinduction and bone growth has been recently highlighted. Hence the need to design strategies that allow the introduction of concave pores in DIW scaffolds. In the current study, we propose to add gelatin microspheres as a sacrificial material in a self-setting calcium phosphate ink. Neither the phase transformation responsible for the hardening of the scaffold nor the formation of characteristic network of needle-like hydroxyapatite crystals was affected by the addition of gelatin microspheres. The partial dissolution of the gelatin resulted in the creation of spherical pores throughout the filaments and exposed on the surface, increasing filament porosity from 0.2 % to 67.9 %. Moreover, the presence of retained gelatin proved to have a significant effect on the mechanical properties, reducing the strength but simultaneously giving the scaffolds an elastic behavior, despite the high content of ceramic as a continuous phase. Notwithstanding the inherent difficulty of in vitro cultures with this highly reactive material an enhancement of MG-63 cell proliferation, as well as better spreading of hMSCs was recorded on the developed scaffolds.