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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomaterials
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1385365
This article is part of the Research Topic The Application of Bioactive Materials in Bone Repair View all 13 articles

Unleashing Innovation: 3D-Printed Biomaterials in Bone Tissue Engineering for Repairing Femur and Tibial Defects in Animal Models -A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Nitin Sagar Nitin Sagar 1*Bandana Chakravarti Bandana Chakravarti 1Shailendra S. Maurya Shailendra S. Maurya 1Anshul Nigam Anshul Nigam 2Pushkar Malakar Pushkar Malakar 3
  • 1 Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow, India
  • 2 Kanpur Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India
  • 3 Department of Biomedical Science & Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, Howrah, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    3D-printed scaffolds have emerged as an alternative for addressing the current limitations encountered in bone reconstruction. This study aimed to systematically review the feasibility of using 3D bio-printed scaffolds as a material for bone grafting in animal models, focusing on femoral and tibial defects. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and overall impact of these scaffolds on bone regeneration. Electronic databases were searched using specific search terms from January 2013 to October 2023, and 37 relevant studies were finally included and reviewed. We documented the type of scaffold generated using the 3D printed techniques, detailing its characterization and rheological properties including porosity, compressive strength, shrinkage, elastic modulus, and other relevant factors. Before incorporating them into the meta-analysis, an additional inclusion criterion was applied where the regenerated bone area (BA), bone volume (BV), bone volume per total volume (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb. Th.), trabecular number (Tb. N.), and trabecular separation (Tb. S.) were collected and analyzed statistically. 3D bio-printed ceramic-based composite scaffolds exhibited the highest capacity for bone tissue regeneration (BTR) regarding BV/TV of femoral and tibial defects of animal models. The ideal structure of the printed scaffolds displayed optimal results with a total porosity >50% with a pore size ranging between 300-and 400 µM. Moreover, integrating additional features and engineered macrochannels within these scaffolds notably enhanced BTR capacity, especially observed at extended time points. In conclusion, 3D-printed composite scaffolds have shown promise as an alternative for addressing bone defects.

    Keywords: Bone repair, 3D printing, Biomaterials, Meta-analysis, Bone defects

    Received: 12 Feb 2024; Accepted: 28 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sagar, Chakravarti, Maurya, Nigam and Malakar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Nitin Sagar, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow, India

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.