Abstract
Bone substitute materials are placed in bone defects and play an important role in bone regeneration and fracture healing. The main objective of the present research is fabrication through the technique of 3D printing and the characterization of innovative composite bone scaffolds composed of polylactic acid (PLA), poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) while hydroxyapatite (HAp), and/or barium titanate (BaTiO3—BT) used as fillers. Composite filaments were prepared using a single screw melt extruder, and finally, 3D composite scaffolds were fabricated using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed a satisfactory distribution of the fillers into the filaments and the printed objects. Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements revealed that PLA/PCL filaments exhibit lower glass transition and melting point temperatures than the pure PLA filaments. Finally, piezoelectric and dielectric measurements of the 3D objects showed that composite PLA/PCL scaffolds containing HAp and BT exhibited piezoelectric coefficient (d33) values close to the human bone and high dielectric permittivity values.
Highlights
Bone defects can be caused by accidents, tumor resection, genetic factors, or other pathological conditions
3D printed multifunctional polylactic acid (PLA)/PCL-based bioscaffolds that combine the bioactivity of HAp and the piezoelectricity of Barium titanate (BT) were fabricated using the fused deposition modeling (FDM)
It was found that the addition of PCL in the PLA matrix increases the elasticity of the filaments and influences their thermal properties by lowering the glass transition temperature of PLA
Summary
Bone defects can be caused by accidents, tumor resection, genetic factors, or other pathological conditions. The gold standard for treating large bone defects is autologous bone grafting in which bone is harvested from one site of the patient and transplanted to another site. This kind of implant has two main disadvantages: the limited amount of available bone and the surgical procedure required for bone harvesting, usually from the ilium or the calvarium. Allografts are grafts transplanted between genetically different individuals of the same species. Xenografts are bone transplants that are implanted to a person from a donor who belongs to a genetically different species
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