Abstract
Herein, we report the physicochemical, thermal, mechanical and biological characteristics, including bioactivity, biodegradation and cytocompatibility of additive manufacturing-enabled novel nanocomposite scaffolds. The scaffolds comprise a blend of polylactic acid (PLA) and poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) reinforced with halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). The nanoengineered filaments were developed by melt blending, and the nanocomposite scaffolds were manufactured by fused filament fabrication. Uniform dispersion of HNTs in the PLA/PCL blend is revealed via scanning electron microscopy. Mechanical property loss due to the addition of PCL to realize a suitable biodegradation rate of PLA was fully recovered by the addition of HNTs. Bioactivity, as revealed by the fraction of apatite growth quantified from XRD analysis, was 5.4, 6.3, 6.8 and 7.1% for PLA, 3, 5 and 7 wt% HNT in PLA/PCL blend, respectively, evidencing enhancement in the bioactivity. The degradation rate, in terms of weight loss, was reduced from 4.6% (PLA) to 1.3% (PLA/PCL) upon addition of PCL, which gradually increased to 4.4% by the addition of HNTs (at 7 wt% HNT). The results suggest that the biodegradation rate, mechanical properties and biological characteristics, including cytocompatibility and cell adhesion, of the 3D printed, microarchitected PLA/PCL/HNT composite scaffolds can be tuned by an appropriate combination of HNT and PCL content in the PLA matrix, demonstrating their promise for bone replacement and regeneration applications.Graphical abstract
Highlights
Blends of polylactic acid (PLA) and poly-e-caprolactone (PCL) are extensively being explored recently for biomedical applications due to their promising characteristics, including biodegradability
The results suggest that the biodegradation rate, mechanical properties and biological characteristics, including cytocompatibility and cell adhesion, of the 3D printed, microarchitected PLA/PCL/halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) composite scaffolds can be tuned by an appropriate combination of HNT and PCL content in the PLA matrix, demonstrating their promise for bone replacement and regeneration applications
The PLA/PCL/HNT composite filaments were developed by melt extrusion and composite scaffolds with porosity, ; 1⁄4 50%, were fabricated via fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing
Summary
Blends of polylactic acid (PLA) and poly-e-caprolactone (PCL) are extensively being explored recently for biomedical applications due to their promising characteristics, including biodegradability. The results suggest that the biodegradation rate, mechanical properties and biological characteristics, including cytocompatibility and cell adhesion, of the 3D printed, microarchitected PLA/PCL/HNT composite scaffolds can be tuned by an appropriate combination of HNT and PCL content in the PLA matrix, demonstrating their promise for bone replacement and regeneration applications. The PLA/PCL/HNT composite filaments were developed by melt extrusion and composite scaffolds with porosity, ; 1⁄4 50% (relative density, q 1⁄4 ð1 À ;Þ 1⁄4 50%), were fabricated via FFF 3D printing.
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