Design and Biofabrication of Polyether-ether ketone/Carboxymethyl Cellulose Scaffolds and the Deposition of Bioactive Glass for Bone Tissue Engineering
Please login to view abstract download link
The osteoporotic fracture requires early recovery through biomaterials-based implants to help the patient recover. Patient-specific bio-fabrication of scaffold/implant requires an engineering approach to fabricate excellent biocompatible, mechanical sable and angiogenic scaffolds for on-time recovery. This research explains the design and fabrication of a novel bio-ink comprised of polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) and sodium-carboxymethyl cellulose (Na-CMC) coated with 45S5bioglass. The rheological analysis of the PEEK/CMC bio-ink shows an impressive shear-thinning effect with greater printability. Direct Ink Write/3D Bioprinting was utilized to fabricate the bone scaffolds by maintaining 85% porosity, 0.3mm layer height and 1mm/s printing speed. The bioglass 45S5 glass nanoparticles were deposited on the as-fabricated scaffolds using a dip-coating method to enhance the osteoinduction and bone regeneration properties. The Scanning electron microscopy and Electron Dispersive Spectroscopic (EDS) analysis show PEEK diffused CMC scaffolds with an average pore size of 500±60 µm and an excellent bioactive glass coating. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis shows peaks attributed to PEEK, CMC and bioactive glass. The antibacterial hallow tests revealed a favorable inhibition zone of PEEK/CMC/bioglass scaffold against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia Coli strains. The micro-tensile test shows excellent elastic behavior and ductile fracture under tensile loading. The effect of the in-vivo chorioallantoic membrane assay (CAM assay) test shows pro-angiogenic behavior, proving its viability in the biological living environment.