Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Bone Tissue Scaffolds, Composed of Polyamide, Polyolefin, and Cellulose Fibers

Abstract

The goal of this research work is to fabricate mechanically robust, porous, and biocompatible bone scaffolds with textured surfaces (for cell/tissue adhesion) for the treatment of osseous fractures. The objective of the work is to investigate the mechanical properties of triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) bone scaffolds, fabricated using fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive manufacturing process, based on a medical grade composite composed of polyamide, polyolefin, and cellulose fibers. FDM has emerged as a high-resolution method for the fabrication of biological tissues and constructs. FDM allows for non-contact, multi-material deposition of functional materials for tissue engineering applications. However, the FDM process is intrinsically complex; the complexity of the process, largely, stems from complex physical phenomena and material-process interactions, which may adversely influence the mechanical properties, the surface morphology, and ultimately the functional characteristics of fabricated bone scaffolds. Consequently, physics-based material and process characterization would be an inevitable need. In this study, seven TPMS bone scaffolds were fabricated, based on the medical-grade polymer composite. The compression properties of the fabricated bone scaffolds were measured using a compression testing machine. The outcomes of this study pave the way for the fabrication of complex composite bone scaffolds with tunable medical and functional properties.