LAUSR

ABSTRACT In this study, we aimed at fabricating scaffolds with varying pore geometry using a low-cost FFF based AM technique to investigate the effect of different pore architecture on cell attachment and proliferation. Poly lactic acid (PLA), being nontoxic, & biodegradable, has been widely investigated in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Four groups of PLA scaffolds with uniform pore size (500 µm) and varying pore geometry were designed, fabricated and characterized for compressive strength, geometrical stability, in-vitro degradation and cell seeding potential. All the groups of scaffolds exhibited comparable compressive strength in the range 10–20 MPa. The 3D printed scaffolds were seeded with MC3T3 cells to investigate the cell seeding potential and proliferation. All the scaffolds exhibited varied cell adhesion profiles, with ~70% as the highest seeding efficiency in case of scaffold with rhombus and hexagon pore geometry. The cell grows well on all groups of scaffolds over an extended period, confirming their biocompatibility. The scaffold with square pore geometry exhibited highest compressive strength and the cell grows almost six folds after 72 h of cell seeding, making it a better choice over other groups of scaffolds. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT