Process optimization to improve the processing of poly (DL-lactide-co- glycolide) into 3D tissue engineering scaffolds

Abstract

Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology is being widely used in diverse areas including tissue engineering scaffold (TES) manufacturing. However, the quality of manufacturing is significantly affected by the property of utilized materials and process parameters of the RP system. This study investigates and optimizes the process parameters for desktop robot-based rapid prototyping (DRBRP) technique to process biopolymer into 3D scaffolds. TES can be freeform fabricated according to various design configurations at room temperature with defined lay-down angle, filament diameter and filament distant. To find the most accurate dimension of the scaffold, controlling of extrusion pressure, material liquefier temperature and deposition speed were conducted. Light optical microscopy was employed to investigate and optimize the suitable process parameters. The process parameters were found to influence the scaffold morphology. However, the pore diameters of the built scaffold were in the viable range for tissue engineering applications. The optimal set of process parameters have been concluded from this study. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.