Mechanical enhancement of porous scaffolds through integration of auxetic and conventional structures

Additive manufacturing has revolutionized the fabrication of various porous structures using diverse biomaterials for preclinical and clinical applications. However, hybrid structures combining conventional and auxetic structures have been seldom explored, despite their immense potential for biomedical applications. This study aims to design various hybrid auxetic and conventional structures and demonstrate their mechanical properties using porous composite polycaprolactone/hydroxyapatite (PCL/HA) biomaterials. Our findings reveal that newly suggested structures can enhance Young’s modulus, yield stress, and energy absorption by up to 98.64%, 99.27%, and 98.61%, respectively, compared to the conventional structures. Moreover, all fabricated scaffolds exhibit porosity exceeding 90%, ensuring their suitability for tissue engineering applications.