Kanwal Ilyas

PhD student

3-D printed hierarchical polymer-bioactive glass composites incorporating biologically active agents as a new family of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

 

Supervisor: Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Bone tissue engineering usually requires the development of suitable scaffolds which should be nontoxic, bioactive and mechanically competent. In this context, bioactive glass (BG)-based scaffolds that are structurally as well as biochemically compatible with natural bone (osteogenic, angiogenic) are being continuously developed since the first 3D Bioglass scaffolds developed in 2006 [1]. This project investigates the development of a new family of bioactive glass based scaffolds which should exhibit controllable pore architecture, excellent mechanical and biological properties and tailored degradability. A convenient alternative to develop such improved scaffolds for bone regeneration is the combination of BG and a biopolymer forming a composite [2] and the use of additive manufacturing methods. In this project scaffolds based on bioactive glass and PLA/PCL will be fabricated by Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), as introduced recently [3]. The biological properties of these scaffolds will be significantly improved by incorporating biologically active agents, for example as a tailored coating of the scaffold struts by mesoporous (BG)/biomolecule layers.

[1]      Q. Z. Chen, et al., “45S5 Bioglass®-derived glass–ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering”, Biomaterials vol. 27, pp. 2414-2425, 2006.

[2]      B. Sarker, J. Hum, S. N. Nazhat, and A. R. Boccaccini, “Combining collagen and bioactive glasses for bone tissue engineering: A review,” Adv. Healthc. Mater., vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 176–194, 2015.

[3]      T. Distler et al., “Polymer-Bioactive Glass Composite Filaments for 3D Scaffold Manufacturing by Fused Deposition Modelling: Fabrication and Characterization,” Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., vol. 8, p. 552, 2020.