Comparative Structural and Mechanical Characterization of FDM 3D‐Printed PLA Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

• Published in: Polymers for advanced technologies Vol. 36; no. 7
• Main Authors: Adel, Abdellattief, Adly, Mahmoud A., Reda, Reham, Abdelkawy, Abdallah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.07.2025; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Accuracy; additive manufacturing (AM); bone scaffolds; cellular lattice materials; Compressive properties; dimensional accuracy; Fused deposition modeling; fused deposition modeling (FDM); Mechanical properties; Polylactic acid; polylactic acid (PLA); Pore size; Porosity; printability; Scaffolds; Structural analysis; Structural design; Tissue engineering; Unit cell; Variance analysis
• ISSN: 1042-7147; 1099-1581
• DOI: 10.1002/pat.70257

ABSTRACT Cellular scaffolds can provide morphological and mechanical integrity with human bone. Various structural designs have been studied; however, their structural and mechanical properties have not been sufficiently compared under the same conditions. This study investigates the effect of unit cell type and size on the dimensional accuracy, porosity accuracy, pore size, and compressive properties of cellular polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds. These scaffolds were additively manufactured using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) method. Three levels of unit cell type and unit cell sizes were investigated. Strut‐based cubic, octet, and surface‐based gyroid structures with 2.5, 3, and 4 mm unit cell sizes were designed, fabricated, and characterized. The scaffolds were created with a constant porosity of 60%. A two‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to identify the significance of unit cell type and size on the measured characteristics. Unit cell type and size significantly impact structural and mechanical properties, as well as the printability of the scaffolds. The structures exhibit trabecular bone‐like mechanical properties, with deformation behavior more dependent on unit cell type than unit cell size. Results show preferability to gyroid structures, with recommendations for enhancing their porosity accuracy.