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Biofabrication of glass scaffolds by 3D printing for tissue engineering

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Abstract

This paper reports a study on the development of bioactive glass powders for biofabrication of scaffolds by an additive manufacturing technique, three-dimensional printing (3DP). Several formulations of the glass were developed from the CaO·P2O5·TiO2 system and prepared on the basis of the results for the commercial powder characterization (average particle size, particle size distribution, microstructural and crystallographic analysis). For printing the glass models in the prototyping machine, a virtual model defined as the “standard model” was produced in commercial powder, and a systematic study of the relevant processing parameters (binder composition, formulation of powder, saturation level in the shell and core, bleed compensation, and printed layer thickness) was carried out in order to determine the most suitable conditions for the fabrication of porous structures for tissue engineering applications. The printed glass models were sintered through specific thermal programs and then characterized in terms of dimensions, structure, morphological features, and mechanical properties. Finally, the sintered models were submitted to mineralization tests in simulated physiological media. In this work, it was demonstrated that it is possible to use a printing machine to manufacture 3DP glassy porous structures with suitable features for tissue engineering applications as temporary scaffolds. The mechanical properties of the produced structures and its mineralization capability in physiological fluids suggest that they have potential to be used in bone tissue regeneration under low load-bearing situations.

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Acknowledgements

This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 (FCT Ref. UID/CTM/50011/2013), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate cofinanced by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement.

The authors are indebted to Professor Artur Mateus and Margarida Franco from Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development of Polytechnic Institute of Leiria for micro CT characterization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Liliana Sofia Oliveira Pires & Maria Helena Figueira Vaz Fernandes

  2. CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Liliana Sofia Oliveira Pires, Maria Helena Figueira Vaz Fernandes & José Martinho Marques de Oliveira

  3. School of Design, Management and Production Technologies Northern Aveiro, University of Aveiro, 3720-509, Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal

    Liliana Sofia Oliveira Pires & José Martinho Marques de Oliveira

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  1. Liliana Sofia Oliveira Pires
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  2. Maria Helena Figueira Vaz Fernandes
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Correspondence to Liliana Sofia Oliveira Pires.

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Pires, L.S.O., Fernandes, M.H.F.V. & de Oliveira, J.M.M. Biofabrication of glass scaffolds by 3D printing for tissue engineering. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 98, 2665–2676 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2369-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-2369-z

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