Three-dimensional printing and in vitro evaluation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) scaffolds functionalized with osteogenic growth peptide for tissue engineering

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a biodegradable and thermoprocessable biopolymer, making it a promising candidate for applications in tissue engineering. In the present study a structural characterization and in vitro evaluation were performed on PHB scaffolds produced by additive manufacturing via selective laser sintering (SLS), followed by post-printing functionalization with osteogenic growth peptide (OGP) and its C-terminal sequence OGP(10–14). The PHB scaffolds were characterized, including their morphology, porosity, thermal and mechanical properties, moreover OGP release. The results showed that SLS technology allowed the sintering of the PHB scaffolds with a hierarchical structure with interconnected pores and intrinsic porosity (porosity of 55.8 ± 0.7% and pore size in the 500–700 μm range), and good mechanical properties. Furthermore, the SLS technology did not change thermal properties of PHB polymer. The OGP release profile showed that PHB scaffold promoted a controlled release above 72 h. In vitro assays using rat bone marrow stem cells showed good cell viability/proliferation in all the PHB scaffolds. Additionally, SEM images suggested advanced morphological differentiation in the groups containing osteogenic growth peptide. The overall results demonstrated that PHB biopolymer is potential candidate for 3D printing via SLS technology, moreover the OGP-containing PHB scaffolds showed ability to sustain cell growth to support tissue formation thereby might be considered for tissue-engineering applications.