Page 343 - IJB-10-1

International Journal of Bioprinting 3D-printed bone scaffolds and biofilm formation

Table 3. A summary of all scaffold designs
Level of biofilm Design
Scaffold formation of Porosity and pore Surface roughness
design size
S. aureus a 75% Porosity (A) 45% Porosity (B)

Least level of
SP bacterial biofilm
formation
Higher surface
Higher porosity/ roughness leads
pore size produces to more bacterial
greater bacterial biofilm formation;
biofilm formation no significant
observation
GY Uneventful

Greatest level of
SD bacterial biofilm No significant
results
formation
Lower porosity/
pore size produces
greater bacterial
biofilm formation Higher surface
roughness results
in less bacterial
RE Uneventful
biofilm formation;
no significant
observation

a Evaluated with crystal violet assay (OD )
630
scaffold 2.03 ± 0.04 and 1.6 ± 1.6 mm, SD scaffold 1.57 ± may provide better outcomes than the current reference
0.03 and 1.10 ± 0.11 mm, and RE scaffold 1.51 ± 0.03 and scaffold designs. Following this research, we anticipate
0.84 ± 0.09 mm, respectively. that new designs capable of reducing biofilm formation
will be devised and investigated. Other than S. aureus,
Our findings showed that the SP scaffold of low porosity
produced the least bacterial biofilm, indicating that it is the it is worth investigating the impact of different bacterial
strains on tissue engineering scaffolds. In future, we plan
best design among the scaffolds being studied. However, to study comparable scaffold designs with the objective
the SP scaffold has a relatively high surface roughness, of optimizing cell proliferation and adhesion, as the
which may not only influence the cell growth but also subsequent step of determining the most suitable bone
the bacterial growth. The large pore size of SP scaffold scaffold design.
(i.e., SP-A) may contribute to the reduced cell migration
and attachment, but the small pore size version (i.e., SP- Acknowledgments
B) displays an opposite effect. Further optimization of the
manufacturing processes of complex shapes is necessary The authors extend their appreciation to the Deputyship
to minimize the risk of bacterial biofilm formation. In for Research & Innovation, “Ministry of Education” in
conclusion, this study presents that it is possible to tailor Saudi Arabia for funding this research work through the
the porosities/pore size of TPMS and RE structures, which project number (IFKSUDR_P102).

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 335 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.1768