3D-Plotted Beta-Tricalcium Phosphate Scaffolds with Smaller Pore Sizes Improve In Vivo Bone Regeneration and Biomechanical Properties in a Critical-Sized Calvarial Defect Rat Model

Due to the difficulty in fabricating bioceramic scaffolds with smaller pore sizes by the current 3D printing technique, the effect of smaller pore sizes (below 400 mu m) of 3D printed bioceramic scaffolds on the bone regeneration and biomechanical behavior is never studied. Herein beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) scaffolds with interconnected smaller pores of three different sizes (100, 250, and 400 mu m) are fabricated by 3D plotting. The resultant scaffolds are then implanted into rat critical-sized calvarial defects without any seeded cells. A custom-designed device is developed to investigate the biomechanical properties of the scaffolds after surgical implantation for 4, 8, and 12 weeks. The scaffolds with the 100 mu m pore size are found to present the highest maximum load and stiffness, comparable to those of the autogenous bone, after being implanted for 12 weeks. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and histological analysis further indicate that the scaffolds with the 100 mu m pore size achieve the highest percentage of new bone ingrowth, which correlates to their best in vivo biomechanical properties. This study demonstrates that tailoring the pore size of beta-TCP scaffolds to a smaller range by 3D-plotting can be a facile and efficient approach to enhanced bone regeneration and biomechanical behaviors in bone repair.