3D printing of smart materials for bone regeneration

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) of medical implants continues to receive broad attention in regenerative medicine. The application of smart materials combined with AM represents a new approach to enhance the functionality of modern implants to tailor patient-specific therapies. Considering bone to be a smart material, this study aims to applicate barium titanate (BaTiO₃) as a smart, piezoelectric bone-mimicking material for AM. We present a powder-based 3D printing process to manufacture cylindrical, porous scaffolds. Subsequent, the scaffolds were characterised in terms of shrinkage, and cytotoxicity. The results represent the first step for the fabrication of piezoelectric barium titanate scaffolds via 3D printing.