A modular approach to 3D-printed bilayer composite scaffolds for osteochondral tissue engineering

Prolonged osteochondral tissue engineering damage can result in osteoarthritis and decreased quality of life. Multiphasic scaffolds, where different layers model different microenvironments, are a promising treatment approach, yet stable joining between layers during fabrication remains challenging. To overcome this problem, in this study, a bilayer scaffold for osteochondral tissue regeneration was fabricated using 3D printing technology which containing a layer of PCL/hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles and another layer of PCL/gelatin with various concentrations of fibrin (10, 20 and 30 wt.%). These printed scaffolds were evaluated with SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and mechanical properties. The results showed that the porous scaffolds fabricated with pore size of 210–255 µm. Following, the ductility increased with the further addition of fibrin in bilayer composites which showed these composites scaffolds are suitable for the cartilage part of osteochondral. Also, the contact angle results demonstrated the incorporation of fibrin in bilayer scaffolds based on PCL matrix, can lead to a decrease in contact angle and result in the improvement of hydrophilicity that confirmed by increasing the degradation rate of scaffolds containing further fibrin percentage. The bioactivity study of bilayer scaffolds indicated that both fibrin and hydroxyapatite can significantly improve the cell attachment on fabricated scaffolds. The MTT assay, DAPI and Alizarin red tests of bilayer composite scaffolds showed that samples containing 30% fibrin have the more biocompatibility than that of samples with 10 and 20% fibrin which indicated the potential of this bilayer scaffold for osteochondral tissue regeneration.

Graphical Abstract