Session: 17-01-01: Research Posters

Paper Number: 139668

139668 - Design and Fabrication of Bone-Like Composite Tissue Scaffolds Using Nuclear Pasta Design Theory 

Bone tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary field that aims to regenerate bone tissue (for example, in cases of bone defects resulting from trauma, disease, or congenital conditions) using a combination of cells, scaffolds, and signaling molecules. Traditional methods of bone repair, such as autografts (using bone from the patient’s own body) and allografts (using bone from a donor), have limitations such as donor site morbidity, limited supply, and risk of immune rejection. The process of bone tissue engineering typically involves seeding stem cells onto the scaffold, culturing them under appropriate conditions in vitro (to promote differentiation, proliferation, and ultimately tissue formation), and then implanting the engineered construct into the defect site in vivo. Once implanted, the cells within the scaffold gradually remodel the scaffold material and deposit new bone tissue, eventually integrating with the surrounding native bone. Scaffold strength and porosity play a crucial role in bone tissue regeneration. There is a need for design and fabrication of bone scaffolds that not only are biocompatible, but also demonstrate an optimal level of strength and porosity. The overarching goal of this work is to fabricate bone-like mechanically robust, dimensionally accurate, and biocompatible tissue scaffolds for treatment of bone pathology. In pursuit of this goal, the overall objective of the work is to investigate the influence of (i) five biocompatible composite materials that are potentially utilized for bone regeneration (ii) two novel porous scaffolds designed based on the nuclear pasta theory, on the physical as well as mechanical properties of bone scaffolds, fabricated using fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive manufacturing process. In this study, uniform monofilaments (having a standard diameter of 2.85 mm) were extruded (prior to FDM-based scaffold fabrication) using a single-screw material extrusion system. The monofilaments were composed of (i) polypropylene (PP)-glass fibers (GF), (ii) Carbon Fiber (CF)-Polypropylene (PP), (iii) Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) derived from renewable resources, (iv) PLA-Limestone, and (v) Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). In addition, two novel scaffolds with complex microstructures, i.e., Lasagna and Lasagna-Spaghetti, were designed and fabricated (each replicated eight times, n=5).  The deposition mass, compression modulus, density, and shrinkage of the fabricated scaffolds were measured to assess their functional performance as a function of material as well as scaffold design parameters. It was observed that the Lasagna-Spaghetti design had a high level of compactness influencing the compression modulus (stiffness) of the fabricated scaffolds. In addition, it is expected that the scaffolds fabricated based on the Lasagna-Spaghetti design have a low-level of shrinkage. Overall, the outcomes of this study pave the way for design and fabrication of bone-like, biocompatible, and mechanically strong scaffolds (nature-inspired) for the treatment of bone fractures, defects, and diseases.

Presenting Author: Hamzeh Al-Qawasmi Marshall University

Presenting Author Biography: Hamzeh Al-Qawasmi is an undergraduate student of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences at Marshall University. He is working in the Lab for Advanced Manufacturing Engineering & Systems (LAMES).

Authors:

Hamzeh Al-Qawasmi Marshall University
Roozbeh (Ross) Salary Marshall University (West Virginia State)