Design, analysis, fabrication and testing of PC porous scaffolds using rapid prototyping in clinical applications

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Rapid prototyping is an advanced fabricating method, where three dimensional objects are built precisely from their three-dimensional computer aided design models in a very short duration. In contrast to traditional machining methods, most of the rapid prototyping techniques tend to fabricate parts based on additive manufacturing process. Fabrication of biomaterial into 3-D scaffold structures is the next vital step in the development of bone implants depending on bone injuries of individual patients, and it is highly demanding among the Indian orthopedic surgeons for treating those bone related defects. Therefore, the need for reliable and economically feasible design, better biomaterials, and efficient fabrication method for scaffold to treat musculoskeletal defects has increased in recent years.
 Materials and Methods: Investigation of scaffold for porous structured bone implant is a recently emerging field in medicine and is involved in developing artificial bones like structure using materials like Tri Calcium Phosphate (TCP), Polyether ether ketone (PEEK), Hydroxyapatite (HA), Polycaprolactone, polycarbonate (PC), poly (l-lactide) PLLA or Polyamide (PA) etc., by incorporating pores in the scaffold. In this research, the samples of the scaffold specimens were designed and fabricated using Stereo lithography technique with biocompatible PC resin and the strength of each sample were analyzed.
 Results: The porous scaffold models are structured with different designs utilizing the CAD software. The porous scaffold with various porosity and pore shape is analyzed through Finite Element Analysis (FEA). StereolithographyViperSi2 method was utilized to manufacture the polycarbonate scaffold. The manufactured rhombus pore model shows the stress value esteems around 200 MPa¸ which is nearest to the compressive strength of human bone. Subsequently the rhombus pore model gives better mechanical load bearing capacity when implanted for tissue recovery in bones.
 Conclusion: Bisphenol-A Polycarbonate material give better surface completion, 100% pore interconnectivity and new tissue arrangement of the fabricated porous scaffold. The SLA technique offers the more noteworthy load bearing quality and great exactness of the fabricated scaffold.