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Ceramic-based piezoelectric material reinforced 3D printed polycaprolactone bone tissue engineering scaffolds

Ceramic-based piezoelectric material reinforced 3D printed polycaprolactone bone tissue engineering scaffolds
Ceramic-based piezoelectric material reinforced 3D printed polycaprolactone bone tissue engineering scaffolds
Recent studies confirm the piezoelectricity of human bone, sparking interest in biocompatible and biodegradable piezoelectric scaffold development. These scaffolds mimic native bone by matching its mechanical properties and piezoelectric behaviour i.e., generating local electrical stimulation under mechanical stress, or generating mechanical response under external electrical stimulation, thereby modulating cellular activity, accelerating cell proliferation and differentiation, ultimately speeding up the regeneration process. Although polymer-based piezoelectric materials offer high reproducibility for 3D scaffolds, their piezoelectric performance falls short of ceramic alternatives. While lead zirconate titanate (PZT) exhibits excellent piezoelectric properties, the hazardous nature of lead limits biomedical applications. Consequently, this research proposes novel lead-free Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3-based (BNT) piezoelectric materials, namely, direct piezoelectric ceramics (DPC) (>50 % d33 enhancement compared to undoped BNT) and converse piezoelectric ceramics (CPC) (>200 % Smax enhancement compared to undoped BNT), with properties optimized for bone tissue engineering (BTE). 3D BTE scaffolds are designed and fabricated considering biocompatible and biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) incorporating DPC and CPC as functional fillers. Comparative evaluations against hydroxyapatite (HA), a well-accepted bioceramic for clinical applications, are conducted for surface, mechanical, and biological properties. Results proved the incorporation of both DPC and CPC promotes the mechanical properties (88.6 % enhancement compared to neat PCL) and cell proliferation rate (46.3 % improvement compared to HA). Notably, hybrid scaffolds combining both PCL/DPC and PCL/CPC in a cascade manner also outperformed PCL/HA (by 7.4 %) in osteogenic differentiation, indicating promising potential for future studies.
Bone Tissue Engineering, Piezoelectric Ceramic, Polymer, Scaffold
0261-3069
Meng, Duo
6753f37f-a536-41f3-bc0f-878c8be30439
Hou, Yanhao
fb285a4f-8235-429a-9095-31468811802a
Zubairi, Hareem
3c1a4057-0c19-4b33-abae-32780730265e
Ucan, Mustafa tugrul
1063bbfb-52bd-4cf8-92dd-2e9488de6527
Hall, David a
bbc8b562-85f5-4610-8cfd-37b0f67cf837
Feteira, Antonio
80133a8a-5e0d-40d3-a1c4-7df687d0f483
Bartolo, Paulo
2f9d5436-4027-4d2f-a182-7831df715dc7
Wang, Ge
4253aaf4-81f1-4abd-869f-7314d35ee26e
Wang, Weiguang
0cc699c0-e7b3-49d0-8c84-1e9d63f747d8
Meng, Duo
6753f37f-a536-41f3-bc0f-878c8be30439
Hou, Yanhao
fb285a4f-8235-429a-9095-31468811802a
Zubairi, Hareem
3c1a4057-0c19-4b33-abae-32780730265e
Ucan, Mustafa tugrul
1063bbfb-52bd-4cf8-92dd-2e9488de6527
Hall, David a
bbc8b562-85f5-4610-8cfd-37b0f67cf837
Feteira, Antonio
80133a8a-5e0d-40d3-a1c4-7df687d0f483
Bartolo, Paulo
2f9d5436-4027-4d2f-a182-7831df715dc7
Wang, Ge
4253aaf4-81f1-4abd-869f-7314d35ee26e
Wang, Weiguang
0cc699c0-e7b3-49d0-8c84-1e9d63f747d8

Meng, Duo, Hou, Yanhao, Zubairi, Hareem, Ucan, Mustafa tugrul, Hall, David a, Feteira, Antonio, Bartolo, Paulo, Wang, Ge and Wang, Weiguang (2025) Ceramic-based piezoelectric material reinforced 3D printed polycaprolactone bone tissue engineering scaffolds. Materials & Design, 257, [114542]. (doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2025.114542).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Recent studies confirm the piezoelectricity of human bone, sparking interest in biocompatible and biodegradable piezoelectric scaffold development. These scaffolds mimic native bone by matching its mechanical properties and piezoelectric behaviour i.e., generating local electrical stimulation under mechanical stress, or generating mechanical response under external electrical stimulation, thereby modulating cellular activity, accelerating cell proliferation and differentiation, ultimately speeding up the regeneration process. Although polymer-based piezoelectric materials offer high reproducibility for 3D scaffolds, their piezoelectric performance falls short of ceramic alternatives. While lead zirconate titanate (PZT) exhibits excellent piezoelectric properties, the hazardous nature of lead limits biomedical applications. Consequently, this research proposes novel lead-free Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3-based (BNT) piezoelectric materials, namely, direct piezoelectric ceramics (DPC) (>50 % d33 enhancement compared to undoped BNT) and converse piezoelectric ceramics (CPC) (>200 % Smax enhancement compared to undoped BNT), with properties optimized for bone tissue engineering (BTE). 3D BTE scaffolds are designed and fabricated considering biocompatible and biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) incorporating DPC and CPC as functional fillers. Comparative evaluations against hydroxyapatite (HA), a well-accepted bioceramic for clinical applications, are conducted for surface, mechanical, and biological properties. Results proved the incorporation of both DPC and CPC promotes the mechanical properties (88.6 % enhancement compared to neat PCL) and cell proliferation rate (46.3 % improvement compared to HA). Notably, hybrid scaffolds combining both PCL/DPC and PCL/CPC in a cascade manner also outperformed PCL/HA (by 7.4 %) in osteogenic differentiation, indicating promising potential for future studies.

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Accepted/In Press date: 7 August 2025
Published date: 11 August 2025
Keywords: Bone Tissue Engineering, Piezoelectric Ceramic, Polymer, Scaffold

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 503889
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503889
ISSN: 0261-3069
PURE UUID: 35f332cf-f218-4729-a9ee-6ad7c9eba2d8
ORCID for Weiguang Wang: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8959-329X

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Date deposited: 15 Aug 2025 16:48
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 02:46

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Contributors

Author: Duo Meng
Author: Yanhao Hou
Author: Hareem Zubairi
Author: Mustafa tugrul Ucan
Author: David a Hall
Author: Antonio Feteira
Author: Paulo Bartolo
Author: Ge Wang
Author: Weiguang Wang ORCID iD

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