Assessment of the morphology and dimensional accuracy of 3D printed PLA and PLA/HAp scaffolds

Ieva Gendviliene; Egidijus Simoliunas; Sima Rekstyte; Mangirdas Malinauskas; Linas Zaleckas; Darius Jegelevicius; Virginija Bukelskiene; Vygandas Rutkunas

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103616

Assessment of the morphology and dimensional accuracy of 3D printed PLA and PLA/HAp scaffolds

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2020 Apr:104:103616. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103616. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Authors

Ieva Gendviliene¹, Egidijus Simoliunas², Sima Rekstyte³, Mangirdas Malinauskas³, Linas Zaleckas⁴, Darius Jegelevicius⁵, Virginija Bukelskiene², Vygandas Rutkunas⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Odontology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Lithuania. Electronic address: ieva.gendviliene@gmail.com.
² Department of Biological Models, Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Lithuania.
³ Laser Research Center, Department of Quantum Electronics, Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Lithuania.
⁴ Institute of Odontology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Lithuania.
⁵ Biomedical Engineering Institute, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania; Department of Electronics Engineering, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania.

PMID: 31929097
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103616

Abstract

Introduction: In complex clinical conditions when physiological bone regeneration is insufficient, there is a need to develop synthetic material-based scaffolds. The morphologic properties of porous scaffolds are of crucial importance. The dimensional accuracy of 3D printed scaffolds can be affected by a variety of factors.

Materials and methods: Three groups of 3D printed scaffolds were investigated: PLA1 (pure polylactic acid) printed with an FDM Ultimaker Original printer, PLA2 and composite PLA/hydroxyapatite (PLA/HAp) scaffolds printed with a Pharaoh XD 20. PLA/HAp filament was created with hot-melt extrusion (HME) equipment. The morphology of the prepared scaffolds was investigated with SEM, micro-CT and superimposition techniques, gravimetric and liquid displacement methods.

Results: Layer heights of PLA1 scaffolds varied the most. PLA1 scaffold volume statistically significantly differed from PLA2 (p < 0.001) and PLA/HAp (p < 0.01) groups. Filament composition had no effect on the volumes of the scaffolds printed with the Pharaoh XD 20 printer (p > 0.05). The total porosity of printed PLA/HAp scaffolds deviated the least from the original STL model.

Conclusions: This study showed that PLA/10% HAp filament fabricated with HME and printed with FFF 3D printer produced equal or even better accuracy of printed scaffolds than scaffolds printed with pure PLA filament. Further research is needed to analyze the effect of HAp on 3D scaffold morphology, accuracy, mechanical and biologic properties.

Keywords: Hot-melt extrusion; Scaffold morphology; Superimposition of scaffold volume; Three-dimensional printing; X-ray microtomography.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Durapatite*
Polyesters
Porosity
Printing, Three-Dimensional
Tissue Engineering
Tissue Scaffolds*

Substances

Polyesters
Durapatite