3D-Printed Bioceramic Scaffolds with High Strength and High Precision

Abstract

Due to the increasing cases of bone damage and bone graft demand, bone-repair technology has great social and economic benefits and the manufacturing of artificial bone implants has become a focus in the domain of regenerative therapy. Considering that the traditional manufacturing process cannot effectively control the overall size of the scaffold, the diameter and shape of micropores, and the interoperability of micropores, 3D printing technology has emerged as a focal point of research within the realm of bone tissue engineering. However, the printing accuracy of extrusion-based biological 3D printing techniques is low. In this research, we utilized three-dimensional printing technology to develop high-precision magnesium-containing silicate (CSi-Mg) scaffolds. The precision of this innovative method was scrutinized and the influence of pore size on scaffold strength was systematically analyzed. Furthermore, the influence of the pore architecture on the sidewalls of these 3D-printed scaffolds was evaluated in terms of mechanical properties. The CSi-Mg scaffold, post a 3-week immersion in a simulated body of fluid, demonstrated a high modulus of elasticity (exceeding 404 MPa) and significant compressive strength (beyond 47 MPa). Furthermore, it exhibited commendable bioactivity and biodegradability. These results suggest that the high-precision 3D-printed CSi-Mg scaffolds hold great promise for addressing challenging bone defect cases.