Design and Fabrication of Bone Scaffold Using Ceramic Composite Filament by 3D Printer

The aging of the middle-aged portion of the population has increased the need for bone tissue scaffolds that help in healing damaged tissue. A 3D printer would be an efficient method for faster and more accurate production of bone scaffolds. This research mainly aims to investigate the pore configuration and the effect of two common ceramic particles (hydroxyapatite (HA) and bioactive glass) on bone scaffold production via fused deposition modeling (FDM). The scaffold building began by determining the optimal scaffold design with respect to percentage porosity and pore shape. The results show that a bone scaffold with square pores and a porosity of 20% is the optimal design. Then, composite filaments made of Polylactic acid (PLA) and the mentioned ceramic particles were prepared. Subsequently, the bone scaffold with a suitable porosity was built using the 3D printer. The results indicated that an appropriate and homogeneous composite with optimal design can constitute a suitable bone scaffold that can benefit from improved biodegradability, adequate mechanical strength, and increased bone regeneration  time.