Fabrication of Porous 3D PCL Scaffold Using Rapid Prototyping System

New rapid prototyping (RP) technology was developed for the fabrication of the 3D porous scaffold in tissue engineering application. In this study, we manufactured the porous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds using the bioplotting system of RP technology. The PCL scaffolds by bioplotting system were divided into four groups according to the strand thickness/distance (um) and orientation (degrees). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and microcomputer tomography (micro-CT) were used to observe the 3D scaffold architectures with interconnected pore network. The mechanical properties and in vitro biocompatibility of scaffolds was performed to study the structural stability and cell responses. The results demonstrated the suitability of the bioplotting process and the cell biocompatibility of the scaffold. We confirmed the reproducibility of RP technology and interconnectivity of the scaffolds for effective clinical use and efficient tissue-engineered scaffold.