Digital light processing mediated 3D printing of biocomposite bone scaffolds: Physico‐chemical interactions and in‐vitro biocompatibility

Abstract

This study reports development of digital light processing (DLP) mediated 3D printed customized bone scaffolds. Bioactive fluorcanasite glass ceramic was incorporated within photocurable resin matrix and the suspensions were 3D printed towards developing composite bone scaffolds. Physico-chemical interaction in the biocomposite bone scaffolds were investigated using infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Further, the mechanical properties of the composite scaffold samples were also evaluated to understand the strengths of the samples in terms of its fracture toughness, flexural strength, and compressive strength. Infrared spectroscopy results demonstrated an active interaction between the acrylate functionalities of the polymer with the bioactive fluorcanasite glass ceramic reinforcement. This was further substantiated with x-ray diffraction results, demonstrating rise in the bioactive crystalline peaks with corresponding increase in the fluorcanasite glass ceramic loading. Later, the samples were also evaluated for in-vitro cellular response in terms of cell viability, proliferation, adhesion, and interaction. The surface hydrophilicity responsible for osteogenic interaction was also studied with contact angle goniometry. With increase in fluorcanasite loading in the formulation, the hydrophilicity was found to increase over the sample surface which in turn was found to enhance cell adhesion and proliferation, as revealed byin-vitro MTT assay and also fluorescence microscopy. To establish the efficacy of DLP technique, two different porous architectural designs were 3D printed and investigated with synchrotron micro-computed tomography. The microtomographs revealed precise microarchitecture and interconnected porosity within the scaffolds.

Synthesis and characterization of enhanced conductivity acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene based composites suitable for fused filament fabrication

“…[ 4 ] Recently, in order to develop more environmentally friendly 3D‐printing techniques and minimize the use of oil‐based filaments, it has been observed an increase of the use of biofilaments to reduce the CO 2 footprint of materials used in AM. [ 23,24 ] The use of those materials is widely extended in the automotive, aerospace, medical, and other industries. [ 25 ]…”

“…[4] Recently, in order to develop more environmentally friendly 3D-printing techniques and minimize the use of oil-based filaments, it has been observed an increase of the use of biofilaments to reduce the CO 2 footprint of materials used in AM. [23,24] The use of those materials is widely extended in the automotive, aerospace, medical, and other industries. [25] FFF has been typically only used in rapid prototyping and it has not been fully adopted to manufacture end-use components due to some disadvantages involved in the process.…”

Bioactive fluorcanasite reinforced magnesium alloy‐based porous bio‐nanocomposite scaffolds with tunable mechanical properties

“…The key constraint of these metallic biomaterials is associated with significant difference in mechanical properties as compared to natural bone, resulting in stress shielding 22,23 . Additionally, these metallic biomaterials lack biodegradable properties, leading to mandatory secondary surgery for removing the implants, that may cause post‐operative problems 24,25 . In this regard, magnesium (Mg), a biodegradable metallic biomaterial can offer a suitable alternative for load‐bearing applications, considering that its mechanical properties such as Young's modulus and compressive strength are similar to natural human bone 10,26,27 .…”

“…22,23 Additionally, these metallic biomaterials lack biodegradable properties, leading to mandatory secondary surgery for removing the implants, that may cause post-operative problems. 24,25 In this regard, magnesium (Mg), a biodegradable metallic biomaterial can offer a suitable alternative for load-bearing applications, considering that its mechanical properties such as Young's modulus and compressive strength are similar to natural human bone. 10,26,27 Unfortunately, the degradation rate of pure magnesium is very high in the physiological system due to the presence of chlorine ions, which results in compromising the structural integrity and in turn the mechanical performance of the scaffold, even before the necessary healing of hard tissue.…”

“…It has demonstrated superior mechanical properties as compared to traditional bioceramics, 17,24,[49][50][51] owing to the generation of interpenetrating needle-like crystal structure and presence of canasite and frankamenite phases. 22,26,49,51 Against this background, we have fabricated magnesium alloybased neat and bio-nanocomposite porous scaffolds.…”