Enhancement of Mechanical and Biological Properties of PEEK/GO/HA Composite Scaffolds Fabricated Through 3D Printing and Sintered Process for Bone Tissue Engineering

In this study, an attempt has been made to fabricate 3D polymer composite scaffolds through additive manufacturing and sintering techniques. Initially, PLA molds were printed using fused deposition modeling (FDM), and subsequently, these molds were filled with Polyetheretherketone/Graphene oxide/Hydroxyapatite (PEEK/GO/HA) slurries with different wt% of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 HA. The molds filled with the slurries were then placed in a sintering machine, where the PLA pattern was burned out. Finally, the desired scaffold was fabricated through the sintering process. The sintered scaffold surface morphology, chemistry, thermal properties, mechanical characteristics, and in vitro biological properties were evaluated. The compressive strength of PEEK/GO/HA with a ratio of 30% is a maximum of about 20.84 +/- 0.21 MPa. Moreover, biological studies of scaffolds were assessed using MTT Assay and AO-EB staining on NIH3T3 cells. According to the results, the biological properties of sintered scaffolds are similar to the trabecular bone tissue found in humans. The results reveal that the PEEK/GO/HA composite scaffold holds great potential and intriguing opportunities for bone regeneration application. [GRAPHICS]