Sometimes degradable polymeric biomaterials are selected for manufacturing therapeutic provisional devices for prostheses, resorbable 3D porous structures as scaffolds for drug release. Non-degradable polymers are the essential materials which are largely applicable for preparations of medicine as fillers materials, orthopedic implants/scaffolds, ocular lens, heart valves, bone cements and vascular grafts for long-term devices. Polymers are classified based on the presence or absence of degradation phenomena in a biological environment that is dependent on their belongings to the second- or third-generation biomaterials. This may be due to the formation of a tough layer within implants. Usually, a biocompatible substance is defined as “inserts/implants” having no reaction with tissue for imprecise periods of time.

As a composite material PLA, HAp and CS have number of applications in bone regeneration.

These reinforcements are useful biomaterials with potential orthopedic, dental and tissue engineering applications due to properties like: bioactivity, biocompatibility and osteo-conductivity. The HAp- and CS-based ceramic reinforcements have been used extensively as reinforcements for fabrication of biomedical implants/scaffolds. The reported literature outlined that for fast growth of bones/tissues, matrix of PLA is usually blended with biocompatible as well as bioactive reinforcements. Biocompatible and biodegradable grades of PLA are available in crystalline as well as amorphous form depending upon relative levels of optical isomers present in the molecules. PLA is one of the commonly used polymers in field of tissue engineering for fabrication of biomedical scaffolds and implants. Further, the dimensional variations and Shore D hardness of 3D printed scaffolds are under statistically control, with process capability indices (Cp and Cpk ≥ 1). The results of study outline the rapid increase in growth of fibroblast cells for FDM-printed scaffolds of PLA–HAp–CS thus ensuring its capability of supporting cell adhesion and cell proliferation. Further, in the second stage, an in vitro evaluation was performed to investigate the linkages of fibroblast cells for 3D printed scaffold. The 3D printed scaffolds were used for process capability analysis to ascertain the industrial usability of PLA–HAp–CS composite scaffold for batch production (especially in assembly applications). In the first stage, selected composition/proportion of PLA–HAp–CS (based on melt flow-ability, mechanical and thermal properties) was 3D printed with fused deposition modeling (FDM) process.

This paper outlines an in vitro evaluation of 3D printed scaffold of polylactic acid (PLA) blended with hydroxyapatite (HAp) and chitosan (CS) for orthopedic tissue engineering applications.

3d priint d and d setup