Fantastic prints and where to find them: processing routes for 3D scaffolds in Tissue Engineering

Recently, the improvement of life conditions, medical treatments, and general welfare has led to an important increase in life expectancy. However, this resulted in a shortage of tissue and organ donors, with waiting lists for transplants getting longer and longer. In an attempt to tackle this issue, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERM) have been developing methods to create and grow tissue and organ substitutes in the laboratory, starting from the patients' own cells to maximize compatibility. In this process, scaffolds are the physical structures meant to provide support and guidance to cells, so that to mimic the mechanical, chemical and topographical properties of the specific tissue and make them grow in a familiar environment. This thesis investigated the use of 3D printing to manufacture scaffolds for bone regeneration, highlighting the current limitations in this technique and suggesting strategies to overcome them. The research started from the development of a mathematical model of the 3D printing process, meant to optimize scaffold properties. In addition, scaffold performances in a biological environment were improved by fabricating scaffolds with additives able to promote bone regeneration. Eventually, the thesis investigated the possibility of tuning different physical properties of scaffolds that so far have been handled interdependently.