3D pure bioceramic scaffold from biogenic sand lobster (Panulirus homarus) shell waste for enhancing in vitro cell osteogenic differentiation

Bone is a complex mineralized tissue composed of various organic (proteins and cells) and inorganic (hydroxyapatite; HA, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, CO₃²⁻, F⁻, Cl⁻, P₂O₇⁴⁻, H₂O) minerals, which often have some issue or defect due to various causes. Recently, artificial bone has been attempted to be developed as a safer method compared to autograft and allograft methods, which potentially cause infectious diseases. However, the method for constructing a 3 dimensional (3D) scaffold from pure bioceramics with a high level of precision remains challenging. In addition, calcium phosphate bioceramics, like commercial HA (HA-C), does not have impurities of inorganic ions that can increase its bioactivity response. We successfully developed 3D HA bioceramics material derived from sand lobster shell (HA-SLS) waste, which contains the magnesium (Mg) natural trace element in the form of β-tricalcium-magnesium phosphate (β-TCMP) to improve the bioactivity cell osteogenic differentiation of HA-C. The 3D scaffold is constructed using additive manufacturing with a digital light processing (DLP) method, which produces pore sizes precisely because the pore size affects the mechanical compressive strength. 3D HA-SLS scaffold derived from biogenic waste has stronger sustained degradability and released ions compared to the 3D HA-C scaffold. The released Ca²⁺, P, and Mg²⁺ ions from HA-SLS can facilitate the material's bioactivity response when the materials are immersed in a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution, increasing the level of cell osteogenic differentiation, which is marked with alkaline phosphate, alizarin red, and gene expression bone-related. Additionally, the 3D HA-SLS scaffold material can support the cell adhesion and proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), so it has the potential to promote bone growth.