Porous bioceramic scaffolds based on akermanite obtained by 3D printing for bone tissue engineering

Porous bioceramic scaffolds were obtained by the 3D printing technique starting from a mixture of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose and a powder obtained by sol-gel method which contains merwinite, monticellite, pseudowolastonie and periclase.The scaffolds were thermally treated at 1370 °C for 3 h and the main mineralogical compound assessed by XRD was akermanite. The obtained scaffolds have adequate mechanical and biological properties thus a great potential for applications in hard tissue engineering. The positive results obtained for this type of scaffolds are due to the precision of 3D printing technique, i.e. ability to control shape and size of both scaffolds and pores, as well as the high reproducibility. The porous bioactive ceramic scaffolds have adequate compressive strength (up to 3.5 MPa) and exhibit mineralization capacity and potential in stimulating cell adhesion and proliferation as well as bacteriostatic properties.