Additive Manufacturing of Bioactive Glass and Its Polymer Composites as Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffolds: A Review

Abstract

Bioactive glass (BG) and its polymer composites have demonstrated great potential as scaffolds for bone defect healing. Nonetheless, processing these materials into complex geometry to achieve either anatomy-fitting designs or the desired degradation behavior remains challenging. Additive manufacturing (AM) enables the fabrication of BG and BG/polymer objects with well-defined shapes and intricate porous structures. This work reviewed the recent advancements made in the AM of BG and BG/polymer composite scaffolds intended for bone tissue engineering. A literature search was performed using the Scopus database to include publications relevant to this topic. The properties of BG based on different inorganic glass formers, as well as BG/polymer composites, are first introduced. Melt extrusion, direct ink writing, powder bed fusion, and vat photopolymerization are AM technologies that are compatible with BG or BG/polymer processing and were reviewed in terms of their recent advances. The value of AM in the fabrication of BG or BG/polymer composites lies in its ability to produce scaffolds with patient-specific designs and the on-demand spatial distribution of biomaterials, both contributing to effective bone defect healing, as demonstrated by in vivo studies. Based on the relationships among structure, physiochemical properties, and biological function, AM-fabricated BG or BG/polymer composite scaffolds are valuable for achieving safer and more efficient bone defect healing in the future.

Effect of Si Contents on the Properties of Ti15Mo7ZrxSi Alloys

“…While polymers and ceramics are commonly used biomaterials [7], they often exhibit low mechanical strength and brittleness, limiting their applications in harsh conditions. Therefore, metallic materials, particularly titanium and its alloys [8], have gained prominence in orthopedic surgery.…”

Special Issue: Bioactive Materials for Additive Manufacturing

“…While previously, additively manufactured biomedical products could be post-processed by adding an additional bioactive material, in recent years bioactive materials have increasingly been used directly during the additive manufacturing stage, most commonly as ingredients in the processed material. These bioactive ingredients can be both natural and synthetic [ 4 , 5 ]. The most commonly encountered practical examples found within the literature regarding the application of bioactive materials in additive manufacturing primarily pertain to implants, tablet-form medications, and transdermal drug delivery systems [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”