Inorganic and Composite Bioactive Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering - Biomaterials Fabrication and Processing - page 29

TABLE 1.13
3-D Fabrication Technologies of Polymer Scaffolds [1]

Required Properties
of Materials

Available Pore
Size ( µ m) Fabrication Technology Reproducibility Porosity (%) Architecture

Solvent casting/particle leaching Soluble User, material and

technique sensitive

30-300 20-50 Spherical pores

Membrane lamination Soluble User, material and

technique sensitive

30-300 < 85 Irregular pores

Textile technology Fibers Machine controlled 20-100 < 95

Melt molding Thermoplastic Machine controlled 50-500 < 80

Extrusion/particle leaching Thermoplastic Machine controlled < 100 < 84 Spherical pores

Emulsion freeze-drying Soluble User, material and

technique sensitive

< 200 < 97 High volume of

interconnected
micropores

Thermally induced phase separation Soluble User, material and

technique sensitive

< 200 < 97 High volume of

interconnected
micropores

Gas foaming Amorphous Material and technique

sensitive

< 100 10-30 High volume of

noninterconnected
micropores

Gas foaming/particle leaching Amorphous Material and technique

sensitive

Micropores < 50 < 97 Low volume of

noninterconnected
micropores combined
with high volume of
interconnected
macropores

Macropores < 400

Three-dimensional printing Soluble Machine and computer

controlled

45-150 < 60 100% interconnected

macrospores