![Sample our Physical Sciences journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110819/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Physical-Sciences.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Bone tissue engineering (BTE) is in active search of the ideal scaffold to give a clinical solution for bone regeneration in non-union fractures. During the last decades, the use of additive manufacturing (AM), and, in particular, melt extrusion AM (ME-AM), has been investigated towards this aim. ME-AM enables the fabrication of personalized 3D scaffolds, with a controlled and highly interconnected porosity, through the solvent-free processing of biodegradable and mechanically robust polymers. In addition to these properties matching the requirements for BTE scaffolds, the polymers used to fabricate these constructs are also more amenable for further functionalization than metals or ceramics, to influence cell behaviour, making thermoplastic materials a preferred choice for BTE. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of various ME-AM scaffolds developed for BTE, along with approaches used to augment their bioactivity, which includes architectural, surface physical and chemical modifications, the incorporation of secondary fibrous or hydrogel networks within the scaffold pores, and the use of composites for ME-AM scaffold fabrication.
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to H2020-NMP-PILOTS-2015 (GA n. 685825) for financial support. We are also grateful to the project 3DMENTOR (with project number 18647) of the VICI research programme, which is financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).