Abstract
Polycaprolactone (PCL) and hydroxyapatite (HA) composite are widely used in tissue engineering (TE). They are fit to being processed with three-dimensional (3D) printing technique to create scaffolds with verifiable porosity. The current challenge is to guarantee the reliability and reproducibility of 3D printed scaffolds and to create sterile scaffolds which can be used for in vitro cell cultures. In this context it is important for successful cell culture, to have a protocol in order to evaluate the sterility of the printed scaffolds. We proposed a systematic approach to sterilise 90%PCL-10%HA pellets using a 3D bioprinter before starting the printing process. We evaluated the printability of PCL-HA composite and the shape fidelity of scaffolds printed with and without sterilised pellets varying infill pattern, and the sterility of 3D printed scaffolds following the method established by the United States Pharmacopoeia. Finally, the thermal analyses supported by the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy were useful to verify the stability of the sterilisation process in the PCL solid state with and without HA. The results show that the use of the 3D printer, according to the proposed protocol, allows to obtain sterile 3D PCL-HA scaffolds suitable for TE applications such as bone or cartilage repair.
Highlights
IntroductionThe choice of biomaterial and fabrication method are two critical factors for the adoption of scaffolds in tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine, which use scaffolds to promote cell growth and new tissue formation
The choice of biomaterial and fabrication method are two critical factors for the adoption of scaffolds in tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine, which use scaffolds to promote cell growth and new tissue formation.Currently, biocompatible synthetic thermoplastic polymers, e.g., polycaprolactone (PCL), polypropylene fumarate (PPF), polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid (PGA) and their copolymers have been used in TE [1]
Biocompatible synthetic thermoplastic polymers, e.g., polycaprolactone (PCL), polypropylene fumarate (PPF), polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid (PGA) and their copolymers have been used in TE [1]
Summary
The choice of biomaterial and fabrication method are two critical factors for the adoption of scaffolds in tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine, which use scaffolds to promote cell growth and new tissue formation. We assessed the printing performance of PCL-HA scaffolds using the proposed sterilisation process, comparing the results with a standard approach. The proposed protocol involves the following steps (Fig. 1): i) fabrication of PCL and HA composite pellets fit for 3D printing, ii) 3D bioprinter set-up and pellets sterilisation, iii) scaffolds design and 3D printing, iv) evaluation of teh 3D printed scaffolds thermal properties, v) assessment of printing performance, vi) evaluation of scaffolds sterility. We performed analysis on i) pellets, ii) 3D printed scaffolds using 90%PCL-10%HA pellets sterilised following the process described in Sect. We 3D printed twelve scaffolds (four for each infill considered) using the 90%PCL-10%HA composite that underwent the sterilisation process described in Sect. We 3D printed six scaffolds using 90%PCL-10%HA pellets sterilised following the process described in Sect. Four scaffolds printed with pellets sterilised following the process described in Sect. 2.3.2 and four scaffolds not treated with the proposed protocol were tested for the validation of the liquid test into SCDM–Agar for colony counting
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