Additive Manufacturing of β-Tricalcium Phosphate Components via Fused Deposition of Ceramics (FDC)

Steffen Esslinger; Axel Grebhardt; Jonas Jaeger; Frank Kern; Andreas Killinger; Christian Bonten; Rainer Gadow

doi:10.3390/ma14010156

Additive Manufacturing of β-Tricalcium Phosphate Components via Fused Deposition of Ceramics (FDC)

Materials (Basel). 2020 Dec 31;14(1):156. doi: 10.3390/ma14010156.

Authors

Steffen Esslinger¹, Axel Grebhardt², Jonas Jaeger³, Frank Kern¹, Andreas Killinger¹, Christian Bonten², Rainer Gadow¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Manufacturing Technologies of Ceramic Components and Composites, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 7b, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
² Institut fuer Kunststofftechnik, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 32, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
³ Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft fuer angewandte Forschung e.V., Allmandring 9b, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.

Abstract

Bone defects introduced by accidents or diseases are very painful for the patient and their treatment leads to high expenses for the healthcare systems. When a bone defect reaches a critical size, the body is not able to restore this defect by itself. In this case a bone graft is required, either an autologous one taken from the patient or an artificial one made of a bioceramic material such as calcium phosphate. In this study β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) was dispersed in a polymer matrix containing poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ethylene glycole) (PEG). These compounds were extruded to filaments, which were used for 3D printing of cylindrical scaffolds via Fused Deposition of Ceramics (FDC) technique. After shaping, the printed parts were debindered and sintered. The components combined macro- and micropores with a pore size of 1 mm and 0.01 mm, respectively, which are considered beneficial for bone healing. The compressive strength of sintered cylindrical scaffolds exceeded 72 MPa at an open porosity of 35%. The FDC approach seems promising for manufacturing patient specific bioceramic bone grafts.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; calcium phosphate; filament extrusion; fused deposition of ceramics (FDC); poly(ethylene glycol); poly(lactic acid); scaffold.