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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Morphological, mechanical and biological assessment

of PCL/pristine graphene scaffolds for bone

regeneration

1,2
4
3
1
Weiguang Wang , Guilherme Ferreira Caetano , Wei-Hung Chiang , Ana Letícia Braz , Jonny
4
2
1*
James Blaker , Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade and Paulo Jorge Bártolo
1 Manchester Biomanufacturing Centre, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Man-
chester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
2 Department of Internal Medicine, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São
Paulo, 14049-900, Brazil
3 Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, E2-514, Taiwan
4 Bio-Active Materials Group, School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

Abstract: Scaffolds are physical substrates for cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation, ultimately leading to
the regeneration of tissues. They must be designed according to specific biomechanical requirements such as mechani-
cal properties, surface characteristics, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and porosity. The optimal design of a scaffold
for a specific tissue strongly depends on both materials and manufacturing processes. Polymeric scaffolds reinforced
with electro-active particles could play a key role in tissue engineering by modulating cell proliferation and differentia-
tion. This paper investigates the use of an extrusion additive manufacturing system to produce PCL/pristine graphene
scaffolds for bone tissue applications. PCL/pristine graphene blends were prepared using a melt blending process.
Scaffolds with regular and reproducible architecture were produced with different concentrations of pristine graphene.
Scaffolds were evaluated from morphological, mechanical, and biological view. The results suggest that the addition of
pristine graphene improves the mechanical performance of the scaffolds, reduces the hydrophobicity, and improves cell
viability and proliferation.
Keywords: biofabrication, human adipose-derived stem cells, poly (ε-caprolactone), pristine graphene, scaffolds, tissue
engineering

*Correspondence to: Paulo Jorge Bártolo, School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester,
UK; E-mail: paulojorge.dasilvabartolo@manchester.ac.uk

Received: May 30, 2016; Accepted: June 16, 2016; Published Online: June 28, 2016
Citation: Wang W, Caetano G F, Chiang W-H, et al., 2016, Morphological, mechanical, and biological assessment of PCL/pristine
graphene scaffolds for bone regeneration. International Journal of Bioprinting, vol.2(2): 95–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.18063/IJB.2016.02.009.

1. Introduction mary tumour resection, where the bone defect exceeds
B Additionally, this regenerative ability reduces with
[1,2]
a critical size, bone is no longer able to heal itself
.
one is a highly anisotropic tissue, able to heal
and remodel without leaving any scar in cases
[3]
age . With the increasing life expectancy of the
of very limited damage or fracture. However,
in pathological fractures, traumatic bone loss or pri- population, osteoporotic fractures will have a serious
economic impact on society and patient’s quality of

Morphological, mechanical, and biological assessment of PCL/pristine graphene scaffolds for bone regeneration. © 2016 Weiguang Wang, et al. This
is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited.
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