Selective laser sintering of biocompatible polymers for applications in tissue engineering.

The ability to use biological substitutes to repair or replace damaged tissues lead to the development of Tissue Engineering (TE), a field that is growing in scope and importance within biomedical engineering. Anchorage dependent cell types often rely on the use of temporary three-dimensional scaffolds to guide cell proliferation. Computer-controlled fabrication techniques such as Rapid Prototyping (RP) processes have been recognised to have an edge over conventional manual-based scaffold fabrication techniques due to their ability to create structures with complex macro- and micro-architectures. Despite the immense capabilities of RP fabrication for scaffold production, commercial available RP modelling materials are not biocompatible and are not suitable for direct use in the fabrication of scaffolds. Work is carried out with several biocompatible polymers such as Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), Polycaprolactone (PCL) and Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and a bioceramic namely, Hydroxyapatite (HA). The parameters of the selective laser sintering (SLS) process are optimised to cater to the processing of these materials. SLS-fabricated scaffold specimens are examined using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Results observed from the micrographs indicate the viability of them being used for building TE scaffolds and ascertain the capabilities of the SLS process for creating highly porous scaffolds for Tissue Engineering applications.