SOLID FREEFORM FABRICATION METHOD APPLIED TO TISSUE SCAFFOLDS - Intelligent Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine - page 614

Figure 31.5. Cultured chondrocytes of scaffolds (a) 3 days after seeding,
(b)3 weeks afterseeding, and (c)2 weeks after seeding. 13
(TTA), and glycol diacrylate (P3-A) with the gelatin hydrolysate
to endow photo-polymerization capabilities. They evaluated the
cell adhesion and proliferation capabilities of osteoblast-like cells
(MG63) using the material to characterize cytocompatibility. 14
Most photocurable polymers do not have mechanical properties
that are adequate for these applications. Because the addition of an
appropriate amountofminerals often improves mechanical proper-
ties, Lee et al. mixed PPF/DEF with hydroxyapatite (HA) to enhance
the mechanical strength of the biomaterial as compared with exist-
ing polymers. 15
A scaffold can be fabricated with ceramic materials using SL
and a sintering process. In this method, photocurable polymers are
blended with bioceramic materials such as HA or tri-calcium phos-
phate (TCP) to make a slurry. Next, the prepared slurry is trans-
ferred into the 3D negative mold cavity made using SL. Lastly, the
moldundergoesasinteringprocessinwhichveryhightemperatures
are applied. During this time the polymer material is selectively
removed,andbondingbetweentheceramicpowdersisinduced.Chu
et al. 16 used commercialized epoxy resin to make a negative mold
and applied the sintering process to fabricate a high-strength scaf-
fold made of HA (Fig. 31.6). They also successfully made various
shapes of scaffolds and demonstrated that the technology would be
useful for tissue engineering applications. Woesz et al. 17 introduced
the fabrication of CP scaffolds and described the proliferation and