Polycaprolactone Scaffolds Fabricated via Bioextrusion for Tissue Engineering Applications
Marco Domingos1, Dinuccio Dinucci, Stefania Cometa
1Department of Chemistry & Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
International Journal of Biomaterials
|February 4, 2010
Summary
A novel BioExtruder system enables low-cost, 3D scaffold fabrication for tissue engineering. This additive biomanufacturing approach produces scaffolds with controlled geometry and pore architecture, showing high potential for tissue regeneration applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
- Additive Manufacturing
Background:
- Tissue Engineering (TE) regeneration relies on porous, biocompatible scaffolds seeded with donor cells.
- Additive biomanufacturing offers precise control over scaffold architecture for optimal tissue growth and mechanical support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel, low-cost extrusion-based system, the BioExtruder, for fabricating 3D scaffolds with controlled geometry for TE.
- To demonstrate the system's capability for multimaterial scaffold fabrication using ISO programming language.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an extrusion-based additive biomanufacturing system (BioExtruder).
- Fabricated porous scaffolds from Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) using directionally aligned microfilaments.
- Conducted chemical, morphological, and in vitro biological evaluations on the PCL constructs.
Main Results:
- The BioExtruder successfully produced 3D scaffolds with controlled internal and external geometry.
- Scaffolds exhibited a regular and reproducible macropore architecture.
- Material properties and biocompatibility remained largely unaltered post-fabrication.
Conclusions:
- The BioExtruder is a promising, cost-effective tool for creating advanced 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering.
- The system's ability to control scaffold architecture supports its potential for promoting tissue regeneration.
