Mechanical properties of calcium phosphate scaffolds fabricated by robocasting

TLDR

The study analyzes the compressive mechanical behavior of β‑tricalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite scaffolds fabricated by robocasting. Using concentrated colloidal inks of β‑TCP and HA, the authors fabricated 3‑D tetragonal mesh scaffolds by robocasting, then measured compressive strength and elastic modulus, assessed the impact of a 3‑week simulated body fluid immersion, and compared the results to literature and human bone. The robocast scaffolds exhibited excellent compressive strength, especially HA after SBF immersion, indicating strong potential for load‑bearing bone tissue engineering applications. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract

Abstract The mechanical behavior under compressive stresses of β‐tricalcium phosphate (β‐TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds fabricated by direct‐write assembly (robocasting) technique is analyzed. Concentrated colloidal inks prepared from β‐TCP and HA commercial powders were used to fabricate porous structures consisting of a 3‐D tetragonal mesh of interpenetrating ceramic rods. The compressive strength and elastic modulus of these model scaffolds were determined by uniaxial testing to compare the relative performance of the selected materials. The effect of a 3‐week immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) on the strength of the scaffolds was also analyzed. The results are compared with those reported in the literature for calcium phosphate scaffolds and human bone. The robocast calcium phosphate scaffolds were found to exhibit excellent mechanical performances in terms of strength, especially the HA structures after SBF immersion, indicating a great potential of this type of scaffolds for use in load‐bearing bone tissue engineering applications. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 2008