3D melt electrowritten MXene-reinforced scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• 2D Ti3C2Tx (MXene) shows promise in tissue engineering but faces challenges in scaffold integration and property tuning.
• Melt electrowriting (MEW) is an advanced additive manufacturing technique for creating customized 3D bioactive scaffolds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and characterize 2D MXene and polycaprolactone (PCL) nanocomposite scaffolds fabricated via MEW for tissue engineering.
• To investigate the effect of functionalized MXene (f-MXene) incorporation on scaffold properties and biological performance.

Main Methods:

• Functionalization of Ti3C2Tx with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane to create f-MXene.
• Fabrication of MXene/PCL (MX/PCL) nanocomposite scaffolds using MEW.
• Comprehensive material characterization including FTIR, XRD, DSC, TGA, SEM, EDX, and AFM.
• In vitro evaluation of scaffold hydrophilicity, mechanical strength, degradation rate, and cell response (MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cells).

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated 3D MEW MX/PCL scaffolds with uniform f-MXene distribution and high shape fidelity.
• Incorporation of f-MXene enhanced scaffold hydrophilicity, compressive modulus, yield strength, and surface roughness.
• f-MXene addition increased thermal stability and delayed scaffold degradation in a concentration-dependent manner.
• MX/PCL scaffolds supported MC3T3-E1 cell adhesion and promoted osteogenic differentiation.

Conclusions:

• 3D printed MX/PCL nanocomposite scaffolds offer a promising platform for tissue regeneration.
• These scaffolds possess tunable mechanical robustness, controlled degradation rates, and excellent cytocompatibility.
• The developed MEW technique enables the creation of advanced biomaterials with tailored properties for specific tissue engineering applications.