ABSTRACT
I. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 139
A. Background of SFF ................................................................................................ 140
B. Common Features of SFF ..................................................................................... 140
II. Scaffolds by SFF ............................................................................................................ 141
A. Three-Dimensional Printing .................................................................................. 141
1. The Technology .............................................................................................. 141
2. Application in Tissue Engineering Scaffolds ................................................. 142
B. Fused Deposition Modeling .................................................................................. 143
1. The Technology .............................................................................................. 143
2. Application in Tissue Engineering Scaffolds ................................................. 144
C. Ink-Jet Printing and Indirect Casting .................................................................... 145
1. The Technology .............................................................................................. 145
2. Application in Tissue Engineering Scaffolds ................................................. 145
D. Stereolithography ................................................................................................... 146
1. The Technology .............................................................................................. 146
2. Application in Tissue Engineering Scaffolds ................................................. 147
E. Selective Laser Sintering ....................................................................................... 147
1. The Technology .............................................................................................. 147
2. Application in Tissue Engineering Scaffolds ................................................. 147
F. Other Extrusion-Based Technologies .................................................................... 148
1. Robocast .......................................................................................................... 148
2. Bioplotter ........................................................................................................ 148
G. Protein and Cell Printing ....................................................................................... 149
1. Protein Printing ............................................................................................... 149
2. Cell and Organ Printer .................................................................................... 149
III. Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................................... 149
A. Connectivity at Wide Range of Porosity Levels .................................................. 149
B. Versatility in Internal Architecture and External Geometry Control ................... 150
C. Ability to Create Discrete Material and Design Domains .................................... 150
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 150
References .................................................................................................................................. 150
Internal architecture of scaffolds, including pore size, pore shape, and connectivity, are critical to the
in vivo and mechanical performance of the scaffolds. It affects the degree of bone regeneration,
influences the path of bone regeneration,
and determines themechanical properties of the scaffolds.
However, in many scaffold manufacturing techniques, the control over the internal architecture and
interconnectivity is limited. Current scaffold processing techniques, including solvent casting,
freeze-drying, phase separation, and gas forming, can now produce interconnected microporosity
with a certain degree of oriented pore structure.
