Use of stereolithography to manufacture critical‐sized 3D biodegradable scaffolds for bone ingrowth

Abstract

A novel approach to the manufacture of biodegradable polymeric scaffolds for tissue‐engineering utilizing stereolithography (SLA) is presented. SLA is a three‐dimensional (3D) printing method that uses an ultraviolet laser to photo‐crosslink a liquid polymer substrate. The current generation of SLA devices provide a 3D printing resolution of 0.1 mm. The experiments utilized a biodegradable resin mixture of diethyl fumarate (DEF), poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF), and a photoinitiator, bisacylphosphine oxide (BAPO). The PPF is crosslinked with the use of the SLA's UV laser (325‐nm wavelength). An SLA device was retrofitted with a custom fixture build tank enclosing an elevator‐driven build table. A 3D prototype model testing the manufacturing control this device provides was created in a computer‐aided‐design package. The resulting geometric data were used to drive the SLA process, and a DEF/PPF prototype part was successfully manufactured. These scaffolds have application in the tissue engineering of bony substrates. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 64B: 65–69, 2002