3D printing of custom-made implants for bone regeneration

• Autor(a) principal: Bento, Ricardo Ferreira
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/30690
• topic: Robocasting; Sol-gel; Bioglass

3D printing has presented itself as potential game changer in the field of biomedical engineering. Robocasting in particular has shown excellent capability to produce custom-sized porous scaffolds using ceramic pastes. The development of materials and respective processing methods still hasn’t reached one material capable of providing both the biological and mechanical properties required for successful and comprehensive bone tissue regeneration. This work reports the fabrication, processing and characterization of a bioglass with applications as a robocasting ink for tissue regeneration. Milling procedures were adjusted resulting in a two-fold increase in milling efficiency; the effect of temperature on the surface area of mesoporous powders was also studied in detail; robocasting inks containing 35 solids loadings of both bioglass and zirconia powders were prepared and characterized rheologically; a script capable of preparing customizable CAD scaffold geometries was developed; the printing process was adjusted to increase the technique’s resolution; mechanical and biological characterization was performed using compression tests and SBF immersion coupled with MTT assays. The results show the development of the biomaterial was a success with demonstrated potential for 3D printing and biological applications. However, the mechanical properties of these bioactive scaffolds aren’t adequate for load-bearing applications.