Mechanical and Biological Behaviour of 3D Printed PCL-Based Scaffolds Fabricated by Fused Deposition Modelling for Bone Tissue Engineering: A Review of Recent Advances

Abstract

The imperative need for alternative approaches to organ transplantation, replacing or regenerating damaged tissues is the key driving force for the remarkable development in tissue engineering. It can be precious in saving people who suffer from the critical shortage of organ donation. Such a strategy can repair injured body parts and tissues by using biomaterials, cells, and bioactive agents. Even though numerous scaffold manufacturing techniques have been available for bone regeneration, the three-dimensional (3D) printing approach can provide scaffolding with delicate features that may not be obtainable in other manufacturing strategies. For instance, when a 3D printer is used, it is possible to easily adjust scaffold pore architecture and size, porosity, and material alignment, forming customizable and defect-fillable scaffolds, which helps control the mechanical behavior of cellular response. The most prominent material used in scaffolding and printing is polycaprolactone (PCL), owing to its considerable potential and capabilities. It has favorable properties for the fabrication of bone tissue engineering scaffolds, such as biocompatibility, viscoelasticity, and affordability. Nonetheless, some inherent drawbacks of this polymer that limit its use in this field are detected, including inadequate mechanical performance, cell adhesion, osteoinductive deficiency, hydrophobicity, and low degradation rate. The incorporation of other materials within this polymer to form composites, on the other hand, can contribute to alleviating the negative influence of the PCL's undesirable characteristics. Improving the mechanical and biological behaviors of PCL-based scaffolds allows these structures to be utilized for tissue engineering since such composites can promote cell adhesion and differentiation, mimic anatomical characteristics of native bone, and can have superior mechanical performance. In this review, the latest advancements in printing intricate geometries 3D PCL-based composites using bioactive ceramics and/or biopolymers by fused deposition modeling (FDM) for bone tissue engineering will be explored, particularly from a morphological, mechanical, and biological perspective.