Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds via 3D-Printing and Sintering for Bone Regeneration

3D-printing proves to be a promising bone scaffold production technology due to its ability to control scaffold geometry with high accuracy. This paper entails the use of calcium phosphate blended with commercial polymer resin at different weight per cents (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30) to be 3D-printed and sintered at 900, 1000 and 1100 °C. The sintered scaffolds were characterised using X-ray diffraction, stereo microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, compressive modulus tests and porosity tests. Results indicated that average pore size, crystallinity, porosity and compressive modulus of the scaffolds were successfully controlled using 3D-printing with regards to emulating properties of cancellous bone. Among these scaffolds, scaffolds of 30 wt.% hydroxyapatite sintered at 1100 °C showed the optimum physical and mechanical properties and can be a potential alternative for bone regeneration.