3D Printing of Bone-Mimetic Scaffold Composed of Gelatin/β-Tri-Calcium Phosphate for Bone Tissue Engineering.

3D printed scaffolds composed of gelatin and β-tri-calcium phosphate (β-TCP) as a biomimetic bone material are fabricated, thereby providing an environment appropriate for bone regeneration. The Ca2+ in β-TCP and COO- in gelatin form a stable electrostatic interaction, and the composite scaffold shows suitable rheological properties for bioprinting. The gelatin/β-TCP scaffold is crosslinked with glutaraldehyde vapor and unreacted aldehyde groups which can cause toxicity to cells is removed by a glycine washing. The stable binding of the hydrogel is revealed as a result of FTIR and degradation rate. It is confirmed that the composite scaffold has compressive strength similar to that of cancellous bone and 60 wt% β-TCP groups containing 40 wt% gelatin have good cellular activity with preosteoblasts. Also, in the animal experiments, the gelatin/β-TCP scaffold confirms to induce bone formation without any inflammatory responses. This study suggests that these fabricated scaffolds can serve as a potential bone substitute for bone regeneration.