Fabrication of PCL/β‐TCP scaffolds by 3D mini‐screw extrusion printing |
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| Authors: | J L Dávila M S Freitas P Inforçatti Neto Z C Silveira J V L Silva M A d’Ávila |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil;2. 3‐D Technologies Division, Renato Archer Information Technology Center, Campinas, SP, Brazil;3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, S?o Carlos School of Engineering, University of S?o Paulo, S?o Carlos, SP, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | Scaffolds of polycaprolactone (PCL) and PCL composites reinforced with β‐tricalcium phosphate (β‐TCP) were manufactured aiming potential tissue engineering applications. They were fabricated using a three‐dimensional (3D) mini‐screw extrusion printing, a novel additive manufacturing process, which consists in an extrusion head coupled to a 3D printer based on the Fab@Home equipment. Thermal properties were obtained by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses. Scaffolds morphology were observed using scanning electron microscopy and computed microtomography; also, reinforcement presence was observed by X‐ray diffraction and the polymer chemical structure by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Mechanical properties under compression were obtained by using a universal testing machine and hydrophilic properties were studied by measuring the contact angle of water drops. Finally, scaffolds with 55% of porosity and a pore size of 450 μm have shown promising mechanical properties; the β‐TCP reinforcement improved mechanical and hydrophilic behavior in comparison with PCL scaffolds. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43031. |
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| Keywords: | biomaterials composites manufacturing |
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