The wettability of the specimens was evaluated by static contact angle measurement on a Theta Lite optical tensiometer (Attension, Biolin Scientific, Espoo,.
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this poster.
Poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate - Poly (ɛ-caprolactone) as a multi-material structure for Temporomandibular Joint Disc Repair Carla Moura1, Luis Francisco1, Nuno Alves1 & Pedro Morouço1 1 Centre
for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal
This research was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (UID/Multi/04044/2013).
Patients suffering from TMJ ankylosis and severe dysfunctional TMJ would benefit with the existence of an appropriate alloplastic solution to mimic TMJ disk. In fact, even with intensive research, there is no appropriate method that would lead to a complete satisfactory TMJ reconstruction. Thus, the aim of this work was to develop 3D structures, through additive manufacturing technology, combining different materials to obtain hierarchical and multifunctional structures. It is estimated that 41% of the world population experiences temporomandibular disorders symptoms throughout their lifetime [1]
PCL (MW 6500, Perstorp, Malmo, Sweden) scaffolds were produced using a extrusion-based system and different production parameters were evaluated, namely, (i) nozzle (extrusion head) temperature and (ii) fibre diameter, as well as the influence of (iii) the surrounding biological environment. PCL scaffolds geometry was obtained by reverse engineering of a sheep TMJ disc and the fibres alignment was 0°-90°. PEGDA (MW 575, Sigma-Aldrich®) hydrogels were produced in a concentration of 20% w/V, dissolved in aqueous solution of 0.5M of 2-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl) piperazin-1-yl]ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) buffer (Sigma-Aldrich®).
First, PCL scaffolds were produced and then, a layer of PEGDA was photopolymerized surrounding the PCL scaffold, forming the sandwich-type of composite (multi-material) structure.
Scaffolds and hydrogels mechanical behavior was assessed by uniaxial unconfined compression tests using an universal testing machine with an extension rate of 1 mm.min-1. A SkyScan 1174™ (software version 1.1, Bruker, Kontich, Belgium) high-resolution μCT scanner, equipped with a 50kV/40W X-ray source and a 1.3megapixel X-ray sensitive CCD camera was used to access the 3D microstructure of produced PCL scaffolds. The wettability of the specimens was evaluated by static contact angle measurement on a Theta Lite optical tensiometer (Attension, Biolin Scientific, Espoo, Finland).
(A)
(B)
Compressive properties of scaffolds produced with different features. (A) Influence of nozzle temperature [78-86ºC]. (B) Influence of fibre diameter [Ø200 and Ø300] and the surrounding environment (37°C) [BIO Ø200 and BIO Ø300]. Typical stressstrain curve (left column) for each sample and respective compression modulus, calculated by the slope of the linear region (right column). Statistical differences are presented by **p
