Quasi-static and dynamic in vitro mechanical response of 3D printed scaffolds with tailored pore size and architectures.

Scaffold-based Tissue Engineering represents the most promising approach for the regeneration of load bearing skeletal tissues, in particular bone and cartilage. Scaffolds play major role in this process by providing a physical template for cells to adhere and proliferate whilst ensuring an adequate biomechanical support at the defect site. Whereas the quasi static mechanical properties of porous polymeric scaffolds are well documented, the response of these constructs under high strain compressive rates remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study investigates, for the first time, the influence of pore size and geometry on the mechanical behaviour of Polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds under quasi static and dynamic conditions. 3D printed scaffolds with varied pore sizes and geometries were obtained using different filament distances (FD) and lay-down patterns, respectively. In particular, by fixing the lay-down pattern at 0/90° and varying the FD between 480 and 980 µm it was possible to generate scaffolds with square pores with dimensions in the range of 150-650 µm and porosities of 59-79%. On the other hand, quadrangular, hexagonal, triangular and complex pore geometries with constant porosity (approx. 70%) were obtained at a fixed FD of 680 µm and imposing four different lay-down patterns of 0/90, 0/60/120, 0/45/90/135 and 0/30/60/90/120/150°, respectively. The mechanical response of printed scaffolds was assessed under two different compression loading regimes spanning five distinct strain rates, from 10-2 to 2000 s-1, using two different apparatus: a conventional screw-driven testing machine (Instron 4483) and a Split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) equipped with a set of A201 Flexi-force™ (FF) force sensors and a pulse shaper. Our results show that the mechanical properties of PCL scaffolds are not strain rate sensitive between 1300 and 2000 s-1 and these strongly depend on the pore size (porosity) rather than pore geometry. Those findings are extremely relevant for the engineering of bone tissue scaffolds with enhanced mechanical stability by providing new data describing the mechanical response of these constructs at high strain rates as well as the at the transition between quasi static and dynamic regimes.