This study describes
the fabrication and characterization of three-dimensional
(3-D) poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds with defined pore
architectures prepared using the melt electrowriting (MEW) technique.
Three homogeneous pore-sized (250, 500, and 750 μm) scaffolds,
two fiber offset (30/70% and 50/50%), and a three-layered (250 μm
bottom–500 μm middle–750 μm top) gradient
pore-sized scaffolds were designed and printed with ∼10 μm
fibers. The mechanical properties (tensile and compression tests),
total surface area, porosity of these scaffolds, and their ability
to promote the attachment and proliferation of human osteoblasts were
then compared. All scaffolds induced good tensile properties; however,
they reacted differently during compressive testing. The offset 30/70
scaffold had the highest surface area to volume ratio which enhanced
osteoblast attachment after 3 days of cell culture. While the highest
initial level of osteoblast attachment at day 1 was found on the 250
μm homogeneous scaffold, the highest degree of cell proliferation
and infiltration at day 30 was observed in the three-layered graded
porosity scaffold. In terms of physical and biological properties
to support bone cell distribution and migration through the entire
structure of the scaffold, our results suggest that melt electrowritten
offset and gradient scaffolds are good candidate platforms for cell
infiltration and growth compared to homogeneous scaffolds.