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.

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In this study, we used a polymer deposition system, based on fused deposition modeling, to fabricate the 3D scaffold and then fabricated micro-pores on a 3D scaffold using a salt leaching method. Materials included polycaprolactone (PCL) and sodium chloride (NaCl). The 3D porous scaffolds were fabricated according to blending ratio such as PCL (70 wt%)/NaCl (30 wt%) and PCL (50 wt%)/NaCl (50 wt%). The 3D porous scaffolds were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that 3D porous scaffolds had a deposition width of 500 μm, contained a pore size of 500 μm and below 100 μm. To evaluate the 3D porous scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, we carried out the cell proliferation experiment using a CCK-8 and a mechanical strength test using a universal testing machine. In summary, the 3D porous scaffold was found to be suitable for cancellous bone of human in accordance with the result of in-vitro cell proliferation and mechanical strength. Thus, a 3D porous scaffold could be a promising approach for effective bone regeneration.

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