ABSTRACT
The calcium phosphate particles can be used as building blocks for fabrication of 3D scaffolds intended for bone tissue engineering. This work presents for the first time a rapid creation of 3D scaffolds using magnetic levitation of calcium phosphate particles. Namely, tricalcium phosphate particles of equal size and certain porosity are used, which undergo the process of recrystallization after magnetic levitational assembly of the scaffold to ensure stitching of the scaffold. Label-free levitational assembly is achieved by using a custom-designed magnetic system in the presence of gadolinium salts, which allows the levitation of calcium phosphate particles. Chemical transformation of tricalcium- to octacalcium phosphate under the condition of magnetic levitation in non-homogeneous magnetic field is also demonstrated. This approach allows obtaining rapidly the octacalcium phosphate phase in the final 3D product, which is biocompatible.
Subject(s)
Bone Regeneration , Bone and Bones/metabolism , Calcium Phosphates/chemistry , Magnetic Fields , Printing, Three-Dimensional , Tissue Scaffolds/chemistry , Bone and Bones/cytology , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , PorosityABSTRACT
We demonstrate a relatively simple route for three-dimensional (3D) printing of complex-shaped biocompatible structures based on sodium alginate and calcium phosphate (CP) for bone tissue engineering. The fabrication of 3D composite structures was performed through the synthesis of inorganic particles within a biopolymer macromolecular network during 3D printing process. The formation of a new CP phase was studied through X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Both the phase composition and the diameter of the CP particles depend on the concentration of a liquid component (i.e., the "ink"). The 3D printed structures were fabricated and found to have large interconnected porous systems (mean diameter ≈800 µm) and were found to possess compressive strengths from 0.45 to 1.0 MPa. This new approach can be effectively applied for fabrication of biocompatible scaffolds for bone tissue engineering constructions.
