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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Fabrication of titanium based biphasic scaffold using

selective laser melting and collagen immersion

2
2
3
1,2
1,3
Swee Leong Sing , Shuai Wang , Shweta Agarwala , Florencia Edith Wiria , Thi Mai Hoa Ha
and Wai Yee Yeong 1,2
1 SIMTech-NTU Joint Laboratory (3D Additive Manufacturing), Nanyang Technological University, 65A Nanyang
Drive, Singapore 637333
2 Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University,
2A Nanyang Link, Singapore 637372
3 Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) @ NTU, 73 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637662

Abstract: Tissue engineering approaches have been adopted to address challenges in osteochondral tissue regeneration.
Single phase scaffolds, which consist of only one single material throughout the whole structure, have been used exten-
sively in these tissue engineering approaches. However, a single phase scaffold is insufficient in providing all the prop-
erties required for regeneration and repair of osteochondral defects. Biphasic scaffolds with two distinct phases of tita-
nium/type 1 c ollagen and titanium-tantalum/type 1 collagen were developed for the first time using selective laser
melting and collagen infiltration. Observation of the biphasic scaffolds demonstrated continuous interface between the
two phases and mechanical characterization of the metallic scaffolds support the feasibility of the newly developed
scaffolds for tissue engineering in osteochondral defects.
Keywords: Velective Oaser Pelting, Witanium, Wantalum, Follagen, Eiphasic Vcaffolds

*Correspondence to: Wai Yee Yeong, SIMTech-NTU Joint Laboratory (3D Additive Manufacturing), Nanyang Technological University,
HW30101, 65A Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637333; Email: wyyeong@ntu.edu.sg
Received: November 22, 2016; Accepted: December 21, 2016; Published Online: January 24, 2017
Citation: Sing SL, Wang S, Agarwala S, et al., 2016, Fabrication of titanium based biphasic scaffold using selective laser melting
and collagen immersion. International Journal of Bioprinting, vol.3(1): 65–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.18063/IJB.2017.01.007.

1. Introduction to regenerate functional tissue by combining three key
O molecules such as growth factors [4-6] . Scaffolds, being
factors, namely, scaffold, functional cells and bioactive
steochondral defects refers to any damage in
the articular cartilage and underlying bone.
critical for osteochondral regeneration, should have a
These can be caused by either trauma related
injuries or natural degradation. In 2008, over 59 million rigid osseous structure. This requirement demands
good mechanical strength and a porous phase to allow
people in America and European Union was estimated seeding, migrating and extracellular matrix (ECM)
to suffer from osteoarthritis which may leads to os- remodeling of cells [7, 8] .
[1]
teochondral defects . Osteochondral tissue regenera- Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, presents
tion remains clinical challenging due to its multi- new opportunities in fabrication of design-dependent
layered structure comprised of multiple tissue seg- scaffolds tailored for maximum osteochondral rege-
ments involving cartilage, bone and the cartilage-bone neration. Scaffolds fabrication using different mate-
interface [2, 3] . In the last decade, several tissue engi- rials have been demonstrated, including polymers [9-11] ,
neering approaches have been developed to address metals [12-16] and ceramics [17] . In particular, selective
this clinical challenge. The aim of tissue engineering is laser melting (SLM) is a powder bed fusion additive

Fabrication of titanium based biphasic scaffold using selective laser melting and collagen immersion. © 2017 Swee Leong Sing, 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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