Accelerated degradation of 3D-printed PETG bone–tissue scaffolds via geometrical control
Scaffolds play a key role in bone repair and should have a degradation rate that matches the rate of bone regeneration. However, the slow degradation of bone tissue scaffolds is a major challenge. This research investigated the degradation rate of Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) bone-tissue scaffolds printed with different lay-up patterns (0/45, 0/60/120, and 0/90). Degradation kinetics were explored using design-informed processing conditions, considering variations in the printing path length, crystallinity and fibre contact points. The findings revealed that changing scaffold lay-up increased the degradation rate by up to 50 % while maintaining compressive modulus. The research contributes a new and novel material-independent approach for controlling scaffolds degradation rate and mechanical performance.
Authors
- Paulo Bártolo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3683-726X)
- Wajira Mirihanage (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9083-269X)
- Hussein Mishbak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7696-6977)
- Evangelos Daskalakis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3855-5442)
- Abdalla M. Omar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-2093)
- Dino Freitas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1094-8527)
- Prasad Potluri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2306-1661)
- Mohamed H. Hassan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0832-8559)
- Paul Mativenga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7583-5163)
Institutions
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Thi Qar University (IQ)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- CIRP Annals
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2025.04.022
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Bone Tissue Engineering Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.67
Funders
- UK Research and Innovation
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council