Mathematically defined tissue engineering scaffold architectures prepared by stereolithography

Abstract

The technologies employed for the preparation of conventional tissue engineering scaffolds restrict the materials choice and the extent to which the architecture can be designed. Here we show the versatility of stereolithography with respect to materials and freedom of design. Porous scaffolds are designed with computer software and built with either a poly(D,L-lactide)-based resin or a poly(D,L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone)-based resin. Characterisation of the scaffolds by micro-computed tomography shows excellent reproduction of the designs. The mechanical properties are evaluated in compression, and show good agreement with finite element predictions. The mechanical properties of scaffolds can be controlled by the combination of material and scaffold pore architecture. The presented technology and materials enable an accurate preparation of tissue engineering scaffolds with a large freedom of design, and properties ranging from rigid and strong to highly flexible and elastic.

Ti–6Al–4V triply periodic minimal surface structures for bone implants fabricated via selective laser melting

“…They justified the natural affinity of the TPMS structures in biological forms and biological sciences, and provided sufficient evidence for their suitability as viable tissue analogues. Melchels et al (2010a) fabricated the scaffold architectures based on Diamond and Gyroid TPMS for tissue engineering by the Stereolithography (SLA) AM technology using the materials of poly(D, L-lactide) and poly(D, L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone). Melchels et al (2010b) investigated the effect of scaffold pore architecture on cell seeding and static culturing, by comparing a Gyroid TPMS architecture fabricated by SLA with a random pore architecture.…”

Design and mechanical characterization of solid and highly porous 3D printed poly(propylene fumarate) scaffolds

“…Using this foundation, scaffolds with gyroid-type porosity were designed and 3D printed out of a bioresorbable poly(propylene fumarate)-based resin. Unconfined compression testing was conducted on fully Many TE researchers are turning to additive manufacturing (AM), also referred to as 3D printing, technologies to fabricate complex scaffolds designed in Computer Aided Design (CAD) software [5][6][7][8]. Using these methodologies, pore geometry is not dependent on the stochastic spatial distribution of pores or porogens; instead, pore geometry can be designed and printed.…”

Selective laser sintering fabrication of nano-hydroxyapatite/poly-ε-caprolactone scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications

“…10,11 Rapid prototyping (RP) has attracted a great deal of attention because it allows the user to precisely control and to construct complex geometrical scaffolds with intricate internal and external architectures. [12][13][14][15] Selective laser sintering (SLS) is one type of RP technology. SLS requires powdered materials, radiant heaters, a CO 2 laser, and a computer control system.…”