The effect of printing parameters on the properties of PCL scaffolds prepared by pneumatic extrusion method

Abstract 3D printing technology has been widely used in tissue engineering applications. Through this technology, tissue engineering scaffolds with complex shapes, variable pore sizes, and certain personalization can be precisely designed to provide an ideal microenvironment for cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. In this paper, based on the dual-stage heating nozzle structure designed by the pneumatic extrusion method, we investigated the effects of printing parameters (e.g., gas pressure level, printing speed, and second-stage heating temperature) on the characteristics of PCL scaffolds. Analysis of the results of the one-factor experiments shows that the printing parameters have a significant effect on the line width and pore size of the scaffolds, and the optimal printing parameters for the geometrical characteristics of the prepared PCL scaffolds are the gas pressure size of 0.4 MPa, the printing speed of 1.25 mm/s, and the second-stage heating temperature of 90°C. The results of the single-factor experiments show that the printing parameters have a significant effect on the line width and pore size of the scaffolds. These results lay the foundation for further optimizing the printing conditions for the preparation of PCL scaffolds based on pneumatic extrusion.