Effect of Different Porosity Ratio on Mechanical Properties of Polycaprolactone and Polylactic Acid Scaffolds

Abstract

In recent years, patient-specific solutions and additive manufacturing (AM) have become increasingly important in the treatment of bone defects in studies performed on the medical field. In this direction, additive manufacturing methods use in scaffold fabrication, and many advantages of these systems come to the forefront. Porosity affects the mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability of tissue engineering scaffolds. In this study, the effect of different porosity ratios on the mechanical properties of scaffolds for polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds was studied. With this fabrication method can be formed entirely 3D interconnected porous scaffolds with pore size. Three different (20%, 35%, and 50%) porosity ratios were determined for both materials, and the mechanical properties of the samples were determined by compression test. The scaffolds fabricated with larger pore size showed lower mechanical performance compared to scaffolds with smaller pore size.