An Overview of Design and Development of Biomimetic Bone Scaffolds Using Heterogeneous TPMS Lattice Structures

Abstract

Scaffold represents important components of tissue engineering. Scaffold for bone tissue engineering needs to mimic bone structures that are heterogeneous and anisotropic. When using Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces (TPMS) based unit cells to simulate bone structure for the additive manufacture of bone scaffolds, researchers frequently find a vast array of options for structural heterogeneity but not enough for material heterogeneity. The utilization of TPMS has led to a surge in the production of tissue engineering scaffolds by increasing the surface area to volume ratio, a crucial factor in vascularization and cell proliferation. Pore interconnectivity can be achieved more smoothly by using the TPMS unit cell for the making of scaffolds. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of TPMS-based (P-Primitive, Gyroid, and Double Diamond) bone scaffolds having both structural and material heterogeneity using composite material made of polymer Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and ceramic Hydroxyapatite (HA) for 3D printing. As scaffolds should be biodegradable so polymer composites (PLA and Hydroxyapatite) have been studied to focus on their biodegradability and bioactivity. Material heterogeneity can be achieved by varying the composition of hydroxyapatite in PLA. Here, the hybridization of TPMS (P-Primitive, Gyroid, and Double Diamond) structures has been analyzed for making scaffolds that mimic human bone structures, and the best combination has been proposed.

Graphical Abstract