CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Currently, the development of 3D printed implants for biomaterial-based tissue engineering applications is a highly active research field. In order to meet the requirements of bone tissue engineering, new biocompatible and bioresorbable polymer-based scaffolds are needed. The development of polymer/bioactive ceramic composite scaffolds allows gathering the beneficial properties of two or more types of materials to best suit the mechanical and physiological demands of the host tissues [1]. In the last decade, bioresorbable segmented poly(ester-urethanes) (SPEU) and SPEU blends have been extensively investigated for their applications in tissue engineering and many biomedical devices [2]. In this work, for the first time, 3D printed SPEU, SPEU/poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate)/bioglass and SPEU/glass ceramic composite scaffolds were successfully fabricated by fused deposition modelling. Both filaments and scaffolds with rectilinear patterns were physically and chemically characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermal analyses, and water contact angle. The effect of sterilization methods on the morphology, pH and surface properties was assessed. In vitro bioactivity tests were also carried out. Biological assays were performed with human osteoblast-like cells (MG-63) and studies with osteoblastic precursor cell line (MC3T3-E1) are in progress. Cell viability, adhesion, proliferation, and morphology were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and WST-8 cell counting Kit-8. SEM-EDS analyses corroborated the presence of HCA with a ratio of Ca/P ≈ 1.68 in SPEU50/PHBV/BG5 scaffold. Preliminary results indicate that the obtained 3D printed composite scaffolds could be remarkably interesting for potential applications in bone tissue engineering.