Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 25;16(3):1061.
doi: 10.3390/ma16031061.

3D-Printed Polycaprolactone Implants Modified with Bioglass and Zn-Doped Bioglass

Izabella Rajzer  1 , Anna Kurowska  1 , Jana Frankova  2 , Renáta Sklenářová  2 , Anna Nikodem  3 , Michał Dziadek  4   5 , Adam Jabłoński  1 , Jarosław Janusz  1 , Piotr Szczygieł  1 , Magdalena Ziąbka  6
Affiliations

3D-Printed Polycaprolactone Implants Modified with Bioglass and Zn-Doped Bioglass

Izabella Rajzer et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

In this work, composite filaments in the form of sticks and 3D-printed scaffolds were investigated as a future component of an osteochondral implant. The first part of the work focused on the development of a filament modified with bioglass (BG) and Zn-doped BG obtained by injection molding. The main outcome was the manufacture of bioactive, strong, and flexible filament sticks of the required length, diameter, and properties. Then, sticks were used for scaffold production. We investigated the effect of bioglass addition on the samples mechanical and biological properties. The samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and microtomography. The effect of bioglass addition on changes in the SBF mineralization process and cell morphology was evaluated. The presence of a spatial microstructure within the scaffolds affects their mechanical properties by reducing them. The tensile strength of the scaffolds compared to filaments was lower by 58-61%. In vitro mineralization experiments showed that apatite formed on scaffolds modified with BG after 7 days of immersion in SBF. Scaffold with Zn-doped BG showed a retarded apatite formation. Innovative 3D-printing filaments containing bioglasses have been successfully applied to print bioactive scaffolds with the surface suitable for cell attachment and proliferation.

Keywords: 3D-printing; bioglass; biomaterials; bone scaffolds; implants; polycaprolactone; zinc.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) CAD model of the mold used in the research, (b) designed model of the part, (c) scheme of connecting sticks, (d) produced parts with sticks.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Microscopic images of obtained filaments and their cross-sections: (a,e) PCL; (b,d,f) PCL_BG; (c,g) PCL_BG_Zn. µCT images of (h) PCL, (i) PCL_BG, (j) PCL_BG_Zn sticks.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM micrographs of (a) PCL; (b) PCL_BG; (c) PCL_BG_Zn filaments along with the results of EDX analysis (d,e) PCL_BG; (f,g) PCL_BG_Zn.
Figure 4
Figure 4
ATR-FTIR spectra of PCL_BG; PCL_BG_Zn; PCL; filaments, BG_Zn powder, and BG powder.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Scaffold model; (b) the topographical scaffold properties; (c) scaffolds after the printing process—macroscopic view; (d,e,f) microscopic images of PCL, PCL_BG, PCL_BG_Zn scaffolds.
Figure 6
Figure 6
SEM micrographs of (a) PCL; (b) PCL_BG; (c) PCL_BG_Zn scaffolds after 7 days of incubation in SBF. EDX analysis of the aforementioned samples (d,e,f).
Figure 7
Figure 7
µCT images of sample PCL_BG_Zn before incubation in SBF. Images showing the top view (a) and the cross-section of the scaffold (c). The scaffold volume is marked in blue; the distribution of the modifying particles is highlighted in yellow. Distribution of BG_Zn particles without the polymer matrix (b,d) (particles marked in red and green). Histogram of the distribution of particles (e).
Figure 8
Figure 8
µCT images of sample PCL_BG_Zn after incubation in SBF. Images showing the top view (a) and the cross-section of the scaffold (c). The scaffold volume is marked in blue; the distribution of the modifying particles is highlighted in yellow. Distribution of BG_Zn particles without the polymer matrix (b,d) (particles marked in red and green). Histogram of the distribution of particles (e).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. The results show a comparison of the cell viability of SaOS-2 cultured on individual materials for 24 h (a) and 7 days (b). Number of measurements: n = 9.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Acridine orange (green color indicates the viable cells) staining, (a) cells cultivated 24 hours on PCL samples, (b) cells cultivated 24 hours on PCL-BG, (c) cells cultivated 24 hours on PCL-BG Zn, (d) cells cultivated 14 days on PCL samples, (e) cells cultivated 14 days on PCL-BG, (f) cells cultivated 14 days on PCL-BG Zn Alexa Fluor® 555 Phalloidin (red color indicates the cytoskeleton), and DAPI (blue color indicates the nucleus) staining (g) cells cultivated 24 hours on PCL samples, (h) cells cultivated 24 hours on PCL-BG samples, (i) cells cultivated 24 hours on PCL-BG Zn samples.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Guo J.L., Diaz-Gomez L., Xie V.Y., Bittner S.M., Jiang E.Y., Wang B., Mikos A.G. Three-dimensional printing of click functionalized, peptide patterned scaffolds for osteochondral tissue engineering. Bioprinting. 2021;22:e00136. doi: 10.1016/j.bprint.2021.e00136. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nowicki M., Zhu W., Sarkar K., Rao R., Zhang L.G. 3D printing multiphasic osteochondral tissue constructs with nano to micro features via PCL based bioink. Bioprinting. 2020;17:e00066. doi: 10.1016/j.bprint.2019.e00066. - DOI
    1. Gómez-Lizárraga K.K., Flores-Morales C., Del Prado-Audelo M.L., Álvarez-Pérez M.A., Piña-Barba M.C., Escobedo C. Polycaprolactone- and polycaprolactone/ceramic-based 3D-bioplotted porous scaffolds for bone regeneration: A comparative study. Mater. Sci. Eng. C. 2017;79:326–335. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2017.05.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chiesa-Estomba C.M., Aiastui A., González-Fernández I., Hernáez-Moya R., Rodiño C., Delgado A., Garces J.P., Paredes-Puente J., Aldazabal J., Altuna X., et al. Three-Dimensional Bioprinting Scaffolding for Nasal Cartilage Defects: A Systematic Review. Tissue Eng. Regen. Med. 2021;18:343–353. doi: 10.1007/s13770-021-00331-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rajzer I., Menaszek E., Bacakova L., Orzelski M., Błażewicz M. Hyaluronic acid-coated carbon nonwoven fabrics as potential material for repair of osteochondral defects. [(accessed on 1 November 2022)];Fibres Text. East. Eur. 2013 99:102–107. Available online: http://www.fibtex.lodz.pl/article937.html.

LinkOut - more resources