Fiber Thickness and Porosity Control in a Biopolymer Scaffold 3D Printed through a Converted Commercial FDM Device

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• 3D printing offers potential for fabricating biocompatible tissues for musculoskeletal defect repair.
• Bone tissue engineering (BTE) can greatly benefit from additive manufacturing approaches.
• Designing 3D scaffolds with optimal stiffness, biodegradability, and cell interaction remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reconfigure a commercial fuse deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer into a 3D bioplotter.
• To achieve control over scaffold fiber thickness and porosity during manufacturing.
• To enable the printing of hydrogels for cell embedding in tissue engineering scaffolds.

Main Methods:

• Modification of a commercial FDM 3D printer's printing head with a custom holder.
• Utilizing the modified printer to fabricate scaffolds using hydrogels suitable for cell embedding.
• Evaluation of scaffold resolution, reproducibility, and repeatability.

Main Results:

• Successful printing of alginate/gelatin scaffolds with good resolution.
• Demonstrated reproducibility and repeatability in scaffold fabrication.
• The custom 3D bioplotter prototype proved effective for creating quality scaffolds.

Conclusions:

• Rewiring an FDM 3D printer into a 3D bioplotter is a viable strategy.
• This approach allows for controlled manufacturing of 3D scaffolds for cell culture and BTE.
• Equipping laboratories with affordable, high-quality 3D scaffold fabrication instruments is achievable.