Development of 3D Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU)/Maghemite (ϒ-Fe₂O₃) Using Ultra-Hard and Tough (UHT) Bio-Resin for...

The use of soft tissue engineering scaffolds is an advanced approach to repairing damaged soft tissue. To ensure the success of this technique, proper mechanical and biocompatibility properties must be taken into consideration. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) scaffold was developed using digital light processing (DLP) and ultra-hard and tough (UHT) bio-resin. The 3D scaffold structure consisted of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and maghemite (ϒ-Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles mixed with UHT bio-resin. The solution sample for fabricating the scaffolds was varied with the concentration of the TPU (10, 12.5, and 15% wt/v) and the amount of ϒ-Fe₂O₃ (1, 3, and 5% v/v) added to 15% wt/v of TPU. Before developing the real geometry of the sample, a pre-run of the DLP 3D printing process was done to determine the optimum curing time of the structure to be perfectly cured, which resulted in 30 s of curing time. Then, this study proceeded with a tensile test to determine the mechanical properties of the developed structure in terms of elasticity. It was found that the highest Young's Modulus of the scaffold was obtained with 15% wt/v TPU/UHT with 1% ϒ-Fe₂O₃. Furthermore, for the biocompatibility study, the degradation rate of the scaffold containing TPU/UHT was found to be higher compared to the TPU/UHT containing ϒ-Fe₂O₃ particles. However, the MTT assay results revealed that the existence of ϒ-Fe₂O₃ in the scaffold improved the proliferation rate of the cells.