Fabrication and finite element simulation of 3D printed poly L-lactic acid scaffolds coated with alginate/carbon nanotubes for bone

In this study, 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds are coated with alginate, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in three distinct ratios (0.1 wt%, 0.2 wt%, and 0.3 wt%). 3D-printed PLA scaffolds have three unique shapes which are coated with Alginate/CNT. Besides, the porous scaffolds are made in lattice cube, Swiss cube, and octahedron shapes. The mechanical strength and biological behavior of new biomaterial scaffolds are evaluated after construction. Furthermore, after examining the mechanical characteristics, such as compressive strength, biological properties, including biocompatibility and bioactivity were determined in simulated body fluid (SBF) soaked at 37 degrees C for 21 days. The toxicity of PLA/alginate/CNT scaffold is studied to assess the cell viability. In addition, the inclusion of 0.3 wt% CNT increases the Alginate/CNT elastic modulus from 100 MPa to 134.11 MPa. It is established that a bio-nano composite comprising 0.3 wt% CNT is optimal. The representative volume element (RVE) technique was used to analyze the microstructure of an Alginate/CNT nanocomposite. The material characteristics are identified by the numerical simulation correspond rather well with those experimentally determined. Moreover, the porous scaffold microstruc-ture is simulated, and their mechanical and physical characteristics are recovered using ABAQUS software. The lattice cube scaffold has greatercompressive strength, and elastic modulus than Octahedron and Swiss cube scaffolds. Additionally, by 0.3 wt% CNT, the lattice cube compressive stress was increased from 8 to 9.432 MPa (at 0.03 strain) and elastic modulus from 253 to 321.38 MPa.

Automated summary

In this study, 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds are coated with alginate and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in three different ratios. The mechanical and biological properties of the scaffolds are evaluated, and it is found that incorporating 0.3 wt% CNTs is optimal. The microstructure of an Alginate/CNT nanocomposite is analyzed using the representative volume element technique, and the material characteristics are found to correspond well with experimental results. Additionally, the lattice cube scaffold shows higher compressive strength and elastic modulus compared to the octahedron and Swiss cube scaffolds.