Bone implants or replacements are very scarce due to the low donor availability and the high rate of body rejection. For this reason, tissue engineering strategies have been developed as alternative solutions to this problem. This research sought to create a cellular scaffold with an intricate and complex network of interconnected pores and microchannels using salt leaching and additive manufacturing (3D printing) methods that mimic the hierarchical internal structure of the bone. A biocompatible hydrogel film (based on poly-ethylene glycol) was used to cover the surface of different polymeric scaffolds. This thin film was then exposed to various stimuli to spontaneously form wrinkled micropatterns, with the aim of increasing the contact area and the material’s biocompatibility. The main innovation of this study was to include these wrinkled micropatterns on the surface of the scaffold by taking advantage of thin polymer film surface instabilities. On the other hand, salt and nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) particles were included in the polymeric matrix to create a modified filament for 3D printing. The printed part was leached to eliminate porogen particles, leaving homogenously distributed pores on the structure. The pores have a mean size of 26.4 ± 9.9 μm, resulting in a global scaffold porosity of ~42% (including pores and microchannels). The presence of nHA particles, which display a homogeneous distribution according to the FE-SEM and EDX results, have a slight influence on the mechanical resistance of the material, but incredibly, despite being a bioactive compound for bone cells, did not show a significant increase in cell viability on the scaffold surface. However, the synergistic effect between the presence of the hydrogel and the pores on the material does produce an increase in cell viability compared to the control sample and the bare PCL material.

The topography and composition of dental implant surfaces directly impact mesenchymal cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, crucial aspects of achieving osseointegration. However, cell adhesion to biomaterials is considered a key step that drives cell proliferation and differentiation. The aim of this study was to characterize characterize the topography and composition of commercial titanium dental implants manufactured with different surface treatments (two sandblasted/acid-etched (SLA) (INNO Implants, Busan, Republic of Korea; BioHorizons^TM, Oceanside, CA, USA) and two calcium phosphate (CaP) treated (Biounite^®, Berazategui, Argentina; Zimmer Biomet, Inc., Warsaw, IN, USA)) and to investigate their influence on the process of cell adhesion in vitro. A smooth surface implant (Zimmer Biomet, Inc.) was used as a control. For that, high-resolution methodologies such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed. Protein adsorption and retromolar gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) adhesion to the implant surfaces were evaluated after 48 h. The adherent cells were examined by SEM and LSCM for morphologic and quantitative analyses. ANOVA and Tukey tests (α = 0.05) were employed to determine statistical significance. SEM revealed that INNO, BioHorizons^TM, and Zimmer implants have an irregular surface, whereas Biounite^® has a regular topography consisting of an ordered pattern. EDX confirmed a calcium and phosphate layer on the Biounite^® and Zimmer surfaces, and AFM exhibited different roughness parameters. Protein adsorption and cell adhesion were detected on all the implant surfaces studied. However, the Biounite^® implant with CaP and regular topography showed the highest protein adsorption capacity and density of adherent GMSCs. Although the Zimmer implant also had a CaP treatment, protein and cell adhesion levels were lower than those observed with Biounite^®. Our findings indicated that the surface regularity of the implants is a more determinant factor in the cell adhesion process than the CaP treatment. A regular, nanostructured, hydrophilic, and moderately rough topography generates a higher protein adsorption capacity and thus promotes more efficient cell adhesion.

Patients with bone diseases often experience increased bone fragility. When bone injuries exceed the body’s natural healing capacity, they become significant obstacles. The global rise in the aging population and the escalating obesity pandemic are anticipated to lead to a notable increase in acute bone injuries in the coming years. Our research developed a novel DLP resin for 3D printing, utilizing poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) (PEGDA) and various monomers through the PET-RAFT polymerization method. To enhance the performance of bone scaffolds, triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) were incorporated into the printed structure, promoting porosity and pore interconnectivity without reducing the mechanical resistance of the printed piece. The gyroid TPMS structure was the one that showed the highest mechanical resistance (0.94 ± 0.117 and 1.66 ± 0.240 MPa) for both variants of resin composition. Additionally, bioactive particles were introduced to enhance the material’s biocompatibility, showcasing the potential for incorporating active compounds for specific applications. The inclusion of bioceramic particles produces an increase of 13% in bioactivity signal for osteogenic differentiation (alkaline phosphatase essay) compared to that of control resins. Our findings highlight the substantial improvement in printing precision and resolution achieved by including the photoabsorber, Rose Bengal, in the synthesized resin. This enhancement allows for creating intricately detailed and accurately defined 3D-printed parts. Furthermore, the TPMS gyroid structure significantly enhances the material’s mechanical resistance, while including bioactive compounds significantly boosts the polymeric resin’s biocompatibility and bioactivity (osteogenic differentiation).

Inorganic–organic hybrid biomaterials have been proposed for bone tissue repair, with improved mechanical flexibility compared with scaffolds fabricated from bioceramics. However, obtaining hybrids with osteoinductive properties equivalent to those of bioceramics is still a challenge. In this work, we present for the first time the synthesis of a class II hybrid modified with bioactive glass nanoparticles (nBGs) with osteoinductive properties. The nanocomposite hybrids were produced by incorporating nBGs in situ into a polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF) and silica (SiO₂) hybrid synthesis mixture using a combined sol–gel and cationic polymerization method. nBGs ~80 nm in size were synthesized using the sol–gel technique. The structure, composition, morphology, and mechanical properties of the resulting materials were characterized using ATR-FTIR, ²⁹Si MAS NMR, SEM-EDX, AFM, TGA, DSC, mechanical, and DMA testing. The in vitro bioactivity and degradability of the hybrids were assessed in simulated body fluid (SBF) and PBS, respectively. Cytocompatibility with mesenchymal stem cells was assessed using MTS and cell adhesion assays. Osteogenic differentiation was determined using the alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP), as well as the gene expression of Runx2 and Osterix markers. Hybrids loaded with 5, 10, and 15% of nBGs retained the mechanical flexibility of the PTHF–SiO₂ matrix and improved its ability to promote the formation of bone-like apatite in SBF. The nBGs did not impair cell viability, increased the ALP activity, and upregulated the expression of Runx2 and Osterix. These results demonstrate that nBGs are an effective osteoinductive nanoadditive for the production of class II hybrid materials with enhanced properties for bone tissue regeneration.