3D gel printing of porous calcium silicate scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Potential porous calcium silicate (CaSiO3) scaffolds for bone tissue engineering were successfully prepared by 3D gel printing technology. The average particle size of CaSiO3 powder is about 5.119 μm. The CaSiO3 slurry prepared for printing had been exhibited shear-thinning properties, and the maximum solid loading of the slurry was 72 wt%. The green scaffolds were sintered at 1150 °C for 4 h after degreasing at 250 °C for 3 h, 420 °C for 9 h, and 660 °C for 3 h, respectively. The sintered scaffolds have well-distributed designed voids and microporous. The shrinkage in length, width, and height is 12.29 ± 0.20%, 12.43 ± 0.17%, 13.15 ± 0.19%, respectively. The porosity of the sintered scaffold is approximately 62%, and the compressive strength is about 16.52 MPa, which is equivalent to the strength of human cancellous bone.