Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Japan.
J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2024 Sep 3;35(1):53. doi: 10.1007/s10856-024-06817-8.
The interconnected structures in a 3D scaffold allows the movement of cells and nutrients. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the in-vivo bioactivity of 3D-printed β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HAP) scaffolds that replicate biological bone. This study included 24-week-old male New Zealand white rabbits. A cylindrical bone defect with a diameter of 4.5 mm and a depth of 8 mm was created in the lateral aspect of the distal femur. A 3D-printed scaffold was implanted in the right femur (experimental side), whereas the left femur was kept free of implantation (control side). Micro-CT analysis and histological observations of the bone defect site were conducted at 4, 8, and 12 weeks postoperatively to track the bone repair progress. No evidence of new bone tissue formation was found in the medullary cavity of the bone defect on the control side. In contrast, on the experimental side, the 3D scaffold demonstrated sufficient bioactivity, leading to the growth of new bone tissue. Over time, new bone tissue gradually extended from the periphery toward the center, a phenomenon evident in both micro-CT images and biopsy staining. In the current study, we observed that the cells involved in bone metabolism adhered, spread, and proliferated on our newly designed 3D-printed scaffold with a bone microstructure. Therefore, it is suggested that this scaffold has sufficient bioactivity to induce new bone formation and could be expected to be a more useful artificial bone than the existing version.
三维支架中的互联结构允许细胞和营养物质的移动。因此,本研究旨在研究复制生物骨骼的 3D 打印β-磷酸三钙(β-TCP)和羟基磷灰石(HAP)支架的体内生物活性。本研究纳入了 24 周龄雄性新西兰白兔。在股骨远端外侧形成直径为 4.5mm、深度为 8mm 的圆柱形骨缺损。将 3D 打印支架植入右侧股骨(实验组),而左侧股骨保持不植入(对照组)。术后 4、8 和 12 周时对骨缺损部位进行微 CT 分析和组织学观察,以跟踪骨修复进展。在对照组的骨髓腔中未发现新骨组织形成的证据。相比之下,在实验组,3D 支架表现出足够的生物活性,导致新骨组织的生长。随着时间的推移,新骨组织逐渐从周围向中心延伸,这一现象在微 CT 图像和活检染色中都很明显。在本研究中,我们观察到参与骨代谢的细胞在我们新设计的具有骨微结构的 3D 打印支架上附着、展开和增殖。因此,建议该支架具有足够的生物活性来诱导新骨形成,并有望成为比现有版本更有用的人工骨。