Fabrication and evaluation of 3D printed BCP scaffolds reinforced with ZrO₂ for bone tissue applications

Abstract

Abstract Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a promising 3D printing and manufacturing step to create well interconnected porous scaffold designs from the computer‐aided design (CAD) models for the next generation of bone scaffolds. The purpose of this study was to fabricate and evaluate a new biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffold reinforced with zirconia (ZrO 2 ) by a FDM system for bone tissue engineering. The 3D slurry foams with blending agents were successfully fabricated by a FDM system. Blending materials were then removed after the sintering process at high temperature to obtain a targeted BCP/ZrO 2 scaffold with the desired pore characteristics, porosity, and dimension. Morphology of the sintered scaffold was investigated with SEM/EDS mapping. A cell proliferation test was carried out and evaluated with osteosarcoma MG‐63 cells. Mechanical testing and cell proliferation evaluation demonstrated that 90% BCP and 10% ZrO 2 scaffold had a significant effect on the mechanical properties maintaining a structure compared that of only 100% BCP with no ZrO 2 . Additionally, differentiation studies of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on BCP/ZrO 2 scaffolds in static and dynamic culture conditions showed increased expression of bone morphogenic protein‐2 (BMP‐2) when cultured on BCP/ZrO 2 scaffolds under dynamic conditions compared to on BCP control scaffolds. The manufacturing of BCP/ZrO 2 scaffolds through this innovative technique of a FDM may provide applications for various types of tissue regeneration, including bone and cartilage.