3D Printed Scaffolds as a New Perspective for Bone Tissue Regeneration: Literature Review

Abstract

Due to the high incidence of bone fractures in the population, it became necessary to produce scaffolds that are able to assist in tissue regeneration. It is necessary to find an appropriate balance between the mechanical and biological properties, in order to mimic the natural tissue, these properties are directly related to the architecture and their degree of porosity, as well as the size of their pores and their interconnectivity. In this perspective, the 3D printing stands out, where the structure is obtained layer by layer, according to a predetermined computational model which provides a greater control of architecture and scaffold geometry and overcomes, in this way, the limitations of traditional techniques of scaffolds manufacturing. In this way, the objective of this seminar is to present the state of the art of the polymer scaffolds produced by 3D printing and applied to bone tissue regeneration, highlighting the advantages and limitations of this process.

Review on current limits and potentialities of technologies for biomedical ceramic scaffolds production

“…AM techniques can be used to produce customized scaffolds for each patient, especially for repairing complicated and very specific lesions 31,54 …”

“…These materials are able to react/stimulate and form cell and tissue connections in the human body 30 . However, the majority of these bioactive materials are fragile and have poor mechanical strength 31 …”

“…30 However, the majority of these bioactive materials are fragile and have poor mechanical strength. 31 These materials are used in various applications within orthopedics, ranging from reconstruction, replacement, and repair of damaged tissues, by using porous scaffolds for BTE. 30 If the bio ceramic material from which the scaffold is produced is not able to degrade rapidly, the internal architecture (porosity and scale size) of the scaffold should allow vascularization.…”

New generation of bioreactors that advance extracellular matrix modelling and tissue engineering

“…Production time for scaffold fabrication can become lengthy as the scaffold design becomes more precise and intricate (Do et al 2015 ). Other methods of 3D printing reviewed by Mota et al (de Azevedo Gonçalves Mota et al 2016 ) include selective laser sintering, stereolithography, fused filament fabrication,solvent casting 3D printing and more recently, digital light processing (Düregger et al 2018 ).…”

Fabrication Methodologies of Biomimetic and Bioactive Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications

“…There are a variety of scaffold fabrication methods in tissue engineering, including gas foaming, solvent casting and particulate leaching, emulsion freeze-drying, phase separation, melt molding, membrane lamination, electrospinning, fiber bonding, polymer/ceramic composite foam fabrication or a combination of these techniques [9,[14][15][16]. In order to replicate the natural bones, scaffolds are engineered to be bioactive or bioresorbable to enhance tissue growth.…”