3D gel-printing of porous MgFe2O4 magnetic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Abstract It is increasing evidence that the synergistic effects of magnetic scaffolds and magnetic fields can accelerate bone repairing and regeneration, and the bone tumor may be treated using magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) with hyperthermia. In this study, in order to apply the magnetocaloric performance of MgFe2O4 to bone tissue engineering, porous MgFe2O4 magnetic scaffolds were successfully prepared by chemical coprecipitation method and 3D gel-printing (3DGP) technology. The printing slurry based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) system exhibited shear thinning properties, and its maximum solid loading was about 63wt%. When the slurry was squeezed out of the needle, the slurry viscosity was 0.58 Pa·s at the shear rate of 316.3 s-1. The scaffolds sintered above 1100 °C were superparamagnetic and their compressive strength was within 1.8–12.51MPa, which is suitable for human cancellous bone. The highest saturation magnetization of porous MgFe2O4 scaffolds printed by 3DGP was 10.63 emu/g when they were sintered at 1200 °C. The weight loss rate of the scaffolds was 2.15% after degradation in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 5 weeks, pH value of SBF was between 6.78 and 7.4. Preliminary biological experiment shows that MC3T3-E1 cells had good adhesion and proliferation on MgFe2O4 scaffolds surface, and MgFe2O4 scaffolds can promote alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activation, which explain that porous MgFe2O4 magnetic scaffolds may be used for bone repairing.