Enhanced bone tissue regeneration using a 3D-printed poly(lactic acid)/Ti6Al4V composite scaffold with plasma treatment modification

The mechanical and biological properties of polylactic acid (PLA) need to be further improved in order to be used for bone tissue engineering (BTE). Utilizing a material extrusion technique, three-dimensional (3D) PLA-Ti6Al4V (Ti64) scaffolds with open pores and interconnected channels were successfully fabricated. In spite of the fact that the glass transition temperature of PLA increased with the addition of Ti64, the melting and crystallization temperatures as well as the thermal stability of filaments decreased slightly. However, the addition of 3–6 wt% Ti64 enhanced the mechanical properties of PLA, increasing the ultimate compressive strength and compressive modulus of PLA-3Ti64 to 49.9 MPa and 1.9 GPa, respectively. Additionally, the flowability evaluations revealed that all composite filaments met the print requirements. During the plasma treatment of scaffolds, not only was the root-mean-square (Rq) of PLA (1.8 nm) increased to 60 nm, but also its contact angle (90.4°) significantly decreased to (46.9°). FTIR analysis confirmed the higher hydrophilicity as oxygen-containing groups became more intense. By virtue of the outstanding role of plasma treatment as well as Ti64 addition, a marked improvement was observed in Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cell attachment, proliferation (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining), and differentiation (Alkaline phosphatase and Alizarin Red S staining). Based on these results, it appears that the fabricated scaffolds have potential applications in BTE.