Integrating melt electrowriting and fused deposition modeling to fabricate hybrid scaffolds supportive of accelerated bone regeneration
Emerging additive manufacturing (AM) strategies can enable the engineering of hierarchal scaffold structures for guiding tissue regeneration. Here, the advantages of two AM approaches, melt electrowriting (MEW) and fused deposition modelling (FDM), are leveraged and integrated to fabricate hybrid scaffolds for large bone defect healing. MEW is used to fabricate a microfibrous core to guide bone healing, while FDM is used to fabricate a stiff outer shell for mechanical support, with constructs being coated with pro-osteogenic calcium phosphate (CaP) nano-needles. Compared to MEW scaffolds alone, hybrid scaffolds prevent soft tissue collapse into the defect region and support increased vascularization and higher levels of new bone formation 12 weeks post-implantation. In an additional group, hybrid scaffolds are also functionalized with BMP2 via binding to the CaP coating, which further accelerates healing and facilitates the complete bridging of defects after 12 weeks. Histological analyses demonstrate that such scaffolds support the formation of well-defined annular bone, with an open medullary cavity, smooth periosteal surface, and no evidence of abnormal ectopic bone formation. These results demonstrate the potential of integrating different AM approaches for the development of regenerative biomaterials, and in particular, demonstrate the enhanced bone healing outcomes possible with hybrid MEW-FDM constructs.
Funding
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) grant number 12/RC/2278 and 17/SP/4721
European Regional Development Fund
SFI under Ireland’s European Structural and Investment Fund
Johnson & Johnson 3D Printing Innovation and Customer Solutions, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc.
Open access funding provided by IReL
History
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable requestComments
The original article is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/Published Citation
Eichholz KF, et al. Integrating melt electrowriting and fused deposition modeling to fabricate hybrid scaffolds supportive of accelerated bone regeneration. Adv Healthc Mater. 2023:e2302057.Publication Date
7 November 2023External DOI
PubMed ID
37933556Department/Unit
- Amber (Advanced Material & Bioengineering Research) Centre
- Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Version
- Published Version (Version of Record)