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Elisabeth Engel and Óscar Castaño. Image: IBEC.
 10.01.2025

An IBEC team creates 3D bioprinted scaffolds offering new hope for bone healing

Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have developed novel 3D printed scaffolds made from polylactic acid and calcium phosphate, that promote blood vessel formation, ensuring better healing and regeneration of bone tissue. The work, published in the Biomaterials Advances Journal, paves the way for more effective bone healing strategies with the potential to reduce graft failure rates. 

Critical bone defects resulting from trauma, tumor resection, or congenital conditions present significant challenges in medical treatment due to high rates of graft failure caused by inadequate blood supply.

Bone is a highly vascularized tissue, and the link between angiogenesis -blood vessel formation- and bone healing has long been discussed by the scientific community, with several studies describing the impairment of bone healing because of lack of or diminished angiogenesis. Traditional approaches like grafting often result in complications due to an inadequate vascular supply to implants leading to poor integration and necrotic tissue.

To tackle this problem, researchers from IBEC led by Oscar Castaño, senior researcher at the Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies group, applied 3D bioprinting technique to develop polylactic acid and calcium phosphate-based glass scaffolds that support angiogenesis and vessel maturation.

The development of these advanced scaffolds highlights the synergistic effects of combining 3D printing technology with bioactive materials like calcium-releasing particles.

Researchers’ approach was based in the use of calcium phosphate (CaP) based glass scaffolds to improve polylactic acid (PLA) properties to obtain a material that matches the chemical, mechanical, and biological needs of bone tissue.

The new PLA-CaP scaffolds allow for adequate vascularisation, which not only heals the tissue, but also allows for efficient regeneration, resulting in the reduction or elimination of bone scarring. To create these scaffolds researchers employed  3D printing to achieve precise control over the scaffold geometry, porosity, and surface characteristics.

“This innovative method allows for customizable scaffolds that mimic the structure of natural bone, essential for enhancing cell infiltration and nutrient exchange during the healing process”, explains Celia Ximenes-Carballo, first author of the study.

“We believe that our 3D printed scaffolds could revolutionize the way we approach bone regeneration. By enhancing vascularization, we can significantly improve healing outcomes and reduce the chances of complications associated with traditional grafting methods”, states Dr. Oscar Castaño.

» Reference article: Celia Ximenes-Carballo, Sergi Rey-Viñolas, Barbara Blanco-Fernandez, Soledad Pérez-Amodio, Elisabeth Engel, Oscar Castaño. Combining three-dimensionality and CaP glass-PLA composites: Towards an efficient vascularization in bone tissue healing. Biomaterials Advances, 164 (2024) 213985. doi: 10.1016/j.bioadv.2024.213985

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