Abstract
This study demonstrates the usefulness of the lithography-based ceramic 3-dimensional printing technique with a specifically designed top-down process for the production of porous calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramic scaffolds with tailored pore orientations and mechanical properties. The processing parameters including the preparation of a photocurable CaP slurry with a high solid loading (φ = 45 vol%), the exposure time for photocuring process, and the initial designs of the porous scaffolds were carefully controlled. Three types of porous CaP scaffolds with different pore orientations (i.e., 0°/90°, 0°/45°/90°/135°, and 0°/30°/60°/90°/120°/150°) were produced. All the scaffolds exhibited a tightly controlled porous structure with straight CaP frameworks arranged in a periodic pattern while the porosity was kept constant. The porous CaP scaffold with a pore orientation of 0°/90° demonstrated the highest compressive strength and modulus due to a number of CaP frameworks parallel to the loading direction. On the other hand, scaffolds with multiple pore orientations may exhibit more isotropic mechanical properties regardless of the loading directions. The porous CaP scaffolds exhibited an excellent in vitro apatite-forming ability in a stimulated body fluid (SBF) solution. These findings suggest that porous CaP scaffolds with tailored pore orientations may provide tunable mechanical properties with good bone regeneration ability.
Highlights
Calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics, which have chemical compositions and crystalline structures similar to those of the inorganic phase of natural bones [1], are biocompatible, biodegradable, and osteo-conductive in vivo [2]
We demonstrate the utility of lithography-based ceramic additive manufacturing (AM) technique for the production of porous CaP scaffolds with tailored pore orientations and mechanical properties
In order to precisely control the porous structure of the porous CaP scaffolds, several processing parameters were carefully controlled including the thickness of the CaP slurry layer in the layer-by-layer printing process (200 μm), exposure time (7 s), and the initial width of the CaP framework (450 μm)
Summary
Calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics, which have chemical compositions and crystalline structures similar to those of the inorganic phase of natural bones [1], are biocompatible, biodegradable, and osteo-conductive in vivo [2]. As the porosity increases, the mechanical strength of these scaffolds decreases dramatically, which limits the range of potential clinical applications (e.g., load-bearing bone scaffolds) [1,5,6] To overcome this limitation, 3D printing and additive manufacturing (AM) techniques have recently gained significant attention in the production of porous ceramic and metallic scaffolds since they can provide high mechanical properties without sacrificing high porosity required for fast bone regeneration [7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
