Melt-Versus Solution-Extrusion Additive Manufacturing of Poly(methyl methacrylate) Medical Implant Prototypes |
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Authors: | Dario Puppi Simona Braccini Andrea Corti Francesca Bello Gianluca Parrini |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, UdR INSTM – Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, Pisa, 56124 Italy;2. Fabrica Machinale, Via Giuntini 13, Cascina, Pisa, 56021 Italy |
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Abstract: | The development of tailored additive manufacturing (AM) approaches is resulting in novel strategies for engineering the macro/microstructural details of potential medical devices made of biocompatible polymers. The aim of this work is the employment of a multifunctional AM machine for fabricating poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) constructs with a predefined shape and porous architecture, by either melt- or solution-extrusion AM. In particular, PMMA porous scaffolds are manufactured by employing fused filament fabrication (FFF) or computer-aided wet-spinning (CAWS). The comparative characterization of the two developed PMMA implant prototypes demonstrates significant differences in terms of porous structure, polymer surface topography, material composition, glass transition temperature, and mechanical properties. As a consequence, FFF-printed PMMA samples support a faster in vitro proliferation of a murine fibroblast cell line in comparison to PMMA scaffolds by CAWS. The results achieved encourage further research on the developed processing protocols, aimed at the development of tailored PMMA implants for personalized surgery applications. |
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Keywords: | additive manufacturing computer-aided wet-spinning fused filament fabrication medical implants polymethyl methacrylate |
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