Abstract

PEREZ SANCHEZ, Lucía et al. 3D printed scaffolds with heterogeneous porosity as a bone regeneration strategy in vivo. Mundo nano [online]. 2025, vol.18, n.34, e69828.  Epub Feb 25, 2025. ISSN 2448-5691.  https://doi.org/10.22201/ceiich.24485691e.2025.34.69828.

3D-printed scaffolds with heterogeneous pores emerge as a strategy for tissue regeneration. In this study, bone regeneration was evaluated in critical defects of Wistar rats due to osteoconduction of 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds with different pore sizes: 250-300 µm in the periphery, followed by 350-400 µm and 400-740 µm in the centre. The small ones promote cell adhesion, while the large ones promote angiogenesis. The scaffolds were 3D printed with PLA, a thermoplastic, biocompatible, and bioresorbable material that has been rigorously approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We evaluated the pore size and porosity in vivo in defects of 9 mm in diameter in rat calvaria, calculating the mineralized tissue by the radiodensity of the Hounsfield units (HU) in microtomographic images at 8, 30, 60 and 90 days. The results showed a pore range of 200-800µm (as the design), and the porosity was 98%, which favored the flow of nutrients, oxygen, and waste elimination. Radiodense tissue was observed in vivo on day 30, evidently on day 90, agreeing with the HU 93.66 and 118.31 respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that 3D scaffolds with heterogeneous pores have a significant osteoconductive capacity in bone regeneration. This finding opens new possibilities and alternatives in the field of tissue bioengineering, potentially revolutionizing the way we approach tissue regeneration.

Keywords : scaffolds; 3D printing; heterogeneous porosity; bone regeneration.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )