abstract
This article reports the first robocasting of a sol-gel based glass ceramic scaffold. Sol-gel bioactive glass powders usually exhibit high volume fractions of meso- and micro-porosities, bad for colloidal processing as this adsorbs significant portion of the dispersing medium, affecting dispersion and flow. We circumvent these practical difficulties, to achieve pastes with particle size distributions, high solids loading and appropriate rheological properties for extrusion through fine nozzles for robocasting. Scaffolds with different macro-pore sizes (300-500 mu m) with solid loadings up to 40 vol.% were robocast. The sintered (800 degrees C, 2 h) scaffolds exhibited compressive strength of 2.5-4.8 MPa, formed hydroxyapatite after 72 h in SBF, and had no cytotoxicity and a considerable MG63 cells viability rate. These features make the scaffolds promising candidates for tissue engineering applications and worthy for further in vivo investigations.
keywords
BIOACTIVE GLASS; MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES; CALCIUM PHOSPHATES; 45S5; CRYSTALLIZATION; BIODEGRADATION; BEHAVIOR
subject category
Materials Science
authors
Ben-Arfa, BAE; Neto, AS; Palama, IE; Salvado, IMM; Pullar, RC; Ferreira, JMF
our authors
Ana Sofia Neto
PhD Student
Basam Abobaker Emhmed Ben-Arfa
Researcher
Isabel Margarida Miranda Salvado
Associate Professor
José Maria da Fonte Ferreira
Retired Professor
Rob Pullar
CollaboratorGroups
G4 - Renewable Materials and Circular Economy
G5 - Biomimetic, Biological and Living Materials
acknowledgements
B.C. Pullar wishes to thank the FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, Portugal) Grant IF/00681/2015 for supporting this work. B. A. E. Ben-Arfa thanks FCT grant BIONANOSCULP PTDC/EPHPAT/6281/2014 for supporting him during this work. This work was developed in the scope of the project CICECO Aveiro Institute of Materials (Ref. FCT UID/CTM/50011/2013), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when applicable co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement.