3D printed β-tricalcium phosphate versus synthetic bone mineral scaffolds: A comparative in vitro study of biocompatibility

• Published in: Bio-medical materials and engineering Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 365 - 375
• Main Authors: Slavin, Blaire V., Mirsky, Nicholas A., Stauber, Zachary M., Nayak, Vasudev Vivekanand, Smay, James E., Rivera, Cristobal F., Mijares, Dindo Q., Coelho, Paulo G., Cronstein, Bruce N., Tovar, Nick, Witek, Lukasz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.01.2024; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology; Biomedical materials; Bone growth; Bone healing; Bone Substitutes - chemistry; Bone Substitutes - pharmacology; Calcium phosphates; Calcium Phosphates - chemistry; Calcium Phosphates - pharmacology; Cell proliferation; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cell viability; Cells, Cultured; Cytotoxicity; Cytotoxicity testing; Defects; Extrudability; Growth factors; Healing; Humans; Hydroxyapatite; In vitro methods and tests; Low temperature; Materials Testing; Printing, Three-Dimensional; Qualitative analysis; Scaffolds; Sintering; Three dimensional printing; Tissue engineering; Tissue Engineering - methods; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; Toxicity testing; Tricalcium phosphate; bioceramics; bone regeneration; synthetic bone mineral; 3D printing; direct inkjet writing
• ISSN: 0959-2989; 1878-3619; 1878-3619
• DOI: 10.3233/BME-230214

BACKGROUND: β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) has been successfully utilized as a 3D printed ceramic scaffold in the repair of non-healing bone defects; however, it requires the addition of growth factors to augment its regenerative capacity. Synthetic bone mineral (SBM) is a novel and extrudable carbonate hydroxyapatite with ionic substitutions known to facilitate bone healing. However, its efficacy as a 3D printed scaffold for hard tissue defect repair has not been explored. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the biocompatibility and cell viability of human osteoprecursor (hOP) cells seeded on 3D printed SBM scaffolds via in vitro analysis. METHODS: SBM and β-TCP scaffolds were fabricated via 3D printing and sintered at various temperatures. Scaffolds were then subject to qualitative cytotoxicity testing and cell proliferation experiments utilizing (hOP) cells. RESULTS: SBM scaffolds sintered at lower temperatures (600 °C and 700 °C) induced greater levels of acute cellular stress. At higher sintering temperatures (1100 °C), SBM scaffolds showed inferior cellular viability relative to β-TCP scaffolds sintered to the same temperature (1100 °C). However, qualitative analysis suggested that β-TCP presented no evidence of morphological change, while SBM 1100 °C showed few instances of acute cellular stress. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrate SBM may be a promising alternative to β-TCP for potential applications in bone tissue engineering.