It is a severe challenge to construct 3D scaffolds which hold controllable pore structure and similar morphology of the natural extracellular matrix(ECM).In this study,a compound technology is proposed by combining the 3D bioprinting and electrospinning process to fabricate 3D scaffolds,which are composed by orthogonal array gel microfibers in a grid-like arrangement and intercalated by a nonwoven structure with randomly distributed polycaprolactone(PCL) nanofibers.Human adiposederived stem cells(hASCs) are seeded on the hierarchical scaffold and cultured 21 d for in vitro study.The results of cells culturing show that the microfibers structure with controlled pores can allow the easy entrance of cells and the efficient diffusion of nutrients,and the nanofiber webs layered in the scaffold can significantly improve initial cell attachment and proliferation.The present work demonstrates that the hierarchical PCL/gel scaffolds consisting of controllable 3D architecture with interconnected pores and biomimetic nanofiber structures resembling the ECM can be designed and fabricated by the combination of 3D bioprinting and electrospinning to improve biological performance in tissue engineering applications.
Yong-Ze YuLu-Lu ZhengHai-Ping ChenWei-Hua ChenQing-Xi Hu
Recently in the area of biological manufacturing and rapid prototyping manufacturing, the bone scaffolds based on the additive manufacturing in repairing bone defects have been paid more and more attention. In the process of preparation, path planning directly affects the structure, performance as well as the final bone cell culture conditions. Due to the special natural bone scaffold structural characteristic, the traditional rapid prototyping(RP) path planning is not fully suitable for the preparation of bone scaffolds. In this paper, based on the 3D printing extrusion forming technology, a method of path planning for osteochondral integrated scaffolds with gradient structure is put forward, which provides a theoretical basis for bone-scaffold modeling and practical preparation. The implementation of the path planning processing system makes it possible to process data automatically from the initial stereo lithography(STL) model of the actual bone defect part by computer X-ray tomography technique(CT) scan or modeling,to generate the path code and to generate the final machining information after post-processing. This work provides some guidelines for independent research and development of automation equipment for biological manufacturing preparation and software technology.The experiment and test results have verified the validity of the path planning method and the good properties of the bone scaffolds with gradient structures.
Wei-Hua ChenYuan-Yuan LiuFu-Hua ZhangYong-Ze YuHai-Ping ChenQing-Xi Hu
