Investigation on dimensional accuracy, compressive strength and measured porosity of additively manufactured calcium sulphate porous bone scaffolds

• Published in: Materials technology (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 36; no. 8; pp. 492 - 503
• Main Authors: Sahu, Kiran Kumar, Modi, Yashwant Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 03.07.2021
• Subjects: 3D printing; additive manufacturing; calcium sulphate; compressive strength; computed tomography; porous bone scaffold
• ISSN: 1066-7857; 1753-5557
• DOI: 10.1080/10667857.2020.1774728

Additive manufacturing (AM), assisted by modern design tools, has recently shown a great potential for fabricating synthetic bone scaffolds. AM offers better control over structural features of porous scaffolds at the time of fabrication. In this study, calcium sulphate-based porous bone scaffolds have been fabricated using 3D printing technology. Initially, the minimum pore size (600 µm) that can be de-powdered is identified through a pilot study. Then, four porous scaffolds (VJ_P6_S6, VJ_P6_S7, VJ_P7_S6 and VJ_P7_S7) have been designed using two different pore and strut sizes (600 and 700 µm) and fabricated along x-, y- and z-axes on ZPrinter® 450. The fabricated scaffolds are then compared for dimensional accuracy, compressive strength and measured porosity. Results show that scaffolds fabricated along the x-axis are found best in terms of dimensional accuracy, compressive strength and fabricated porosity. The maximum compressive strength among solid samples is found 2.92 MPa; whereas, for porous samples, it is found 1.86 MPa in VJ_P7_S6 sample fabricated along the x-axis. The porosity in fabricated samples is measured using micro-computed tomography scan images and found a minimum reduction of 3.9% from the designed porosity in sample VJ_P7_S7 fabricated along the x-axis. A preliminary biological investigation reveals that the used material has no significant toxic effect on cells and provides a favourable media for cell adhesion and growth.