Manufacturing and investigation of mechanical properties of the hydroxyapatite-chitosan scaffold by ۳D printer

Bones can be affected by injuries, fractures, diseases, accidents, and functional disorders. Various therapeutic strategies have been introduced in which the use of scaffolds is considered an excellent solution for bone tissue function. Among the existing methods for printing bone scaffolds, the extrusion-based method is one of the advanced methods. It has the characteristics of using different biomaterials and the possibility of making scaffolds with controlled porosity. Hydroxyapatite is remarkable as a ceramic material in the construction of scaffolds due to the similarity of its chemical and crystalline composition to the mineral phase of bone, excellent biocompatibility, and high bone formation. On the other hand, using chitosan together with hydroxyapatite as a composite, due to the biological properties of chitosan, leads to creating a desirable composite composition. This research used hydroxyapatite-chitosan composite material (hydroxyapatite to chitosan weight ratio, ۶۶ to ۳۴ and ۴۰ to ۶۰) to make a scaffold using a ۳D printer. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectrum analysis related to chitosan and chitosan-hydroxyapatite indicate that chitosan, hydroxyapatite, and glycerol (as network builders) were connected by physical hydrogen bonds and not chemical bonds. The scaffold with the highest percentage of porosity of about ۹۰% and the average size of porosity of ۳۱۸.۵۳ μm, with Young's modulus at ۱۵% strain, ۱۶.۳۹ MPa, and compressive strength at ۱۵% strain, ۲.۰۴۷۱ MPa was prepared.

کلیدواژه ها:

Scaffold ، ۳D printer ، Hydroxyapatite ، Chitosan