Page 282 - IJB-10-1

International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Development of P(3HB-co-3HHx)

nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) composites for
scaffolds manufacturing by means of fused

deposition modeling

Juan Ivorra-Martinez *, Ines Ferrer , Roberto Aguado , Marc Delgado-Aguilar ,
3
3
1
2
Maria Luisa Garcia-Romeu , and Teodomiro Boronat 1
2
1 Technological Institute of Materials (ITM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Plaza
Ferrándiz y Carbonell 1, 03801 Alcoy, Spain
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Construction, University of Girona, c/M.
Aurèlia Campmany, 61, Girona 17071, Spain
3
LEPAMAP-PRODIS Research Group, University of Girona, c/M. Aurèlia Campmany, 61, Girona
17071, Spain
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Novel Materials and Processing for Medical 3D Printing and
Bioprinting)
Abstract

This work reports on the development of nanocomposites based on poly(3-
hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) [P(3HB-co-3HHx)] and nanohydroxyapatite
(nHA) for the development of scaffolds by means of a two-stage extrusion process
followed by a 3D printing process. Tensile test samples were produced for the
*Corresponding author: characterization of the materials. Each processing thermal cycle promoted a slight
Juan Ivorra-Martinez thermal degradation, identified by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)
(juaivmar@doctor.upv.es) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Also, a viscosity reduction was observed
Citation: Ivorra-Martinez J, Ferrer in the rheological measurements. The 3D-printed tensile test samples exhibited
I, Aguado R, Delgado-Aguilar increasing stiffness at increasing nHA content (with elastic modulus values close to
M, Garcia-Romeu ML, Boronat
T. Development of P(3HB-co- 1000 MPa), while tensile strength and strain at break were reduced. Nonetheless,
3HHx) nanohydroxyapatite the deposition direction oriented with the tensile direction (raster angle of 0°C)
(nHA) composites for scaffolds exhibited the highest tensile strength (18 MPa) but lower elongation at break than
manufacturing by means of fused
deposition modeling. Int J Bioprint. the 45°/−45°C deposition, which resulted in the highest strain (up to 17%). Regarding
2024;10(1):0156. the scaffolds, they were degraded in phosphate-buffered saline at 37°C for 8 weeks.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.0156 This degradation was identified by a reduction of their weight (between 1.5% and
Received: May 07, 2023 3.0%) and reduced mechanical behavior measured by means of a compression test.
Accepted: June 16, 2023 Scaffolds showed a decrease of the compression strength (from values close to
Published Online: August 24, 2023
13 MPa to 9 MPa).
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the Keywords: Hydroxyapatite; Polyhydroxyalkanoates; Fused filament deposition
Creative Commons Attribution modeling; Additive manufacturing; Scaffold
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
1. Introduction
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Additive manufacturing has been developed as a novel manufacturing methodology.
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Some of the main advantages of additive manufacturing are the freedom it provides
affiliations. toward design, mass customization, and manufacture of complex structures, as well

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 274 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.0156