TY - JOUR A1 - Zocca, Andrea A1 - Gomes, Cynthia A1 - Linow, Ulf A1 - Marx, Heidi A1 - Melcher, J A1 - Colombo, P A1 - Günster, Jens T1 - Structural optimization of printed structures by self-organized relaxation N2 - Purpose – This paper aims to present an additive manufacturing-based approach in which a new strategy for a thermally activated local melting and material flow, which results in densification of printed structures, is introduced. Design/methodology/approach – For enabling this self-organized relaxation of printed objects by the viscous flow of material, two interconnected structures are printed simultaneously in one printing process, namely, Structure A actually representing the three dimensional object to be built and Structure B acting as a material reservoir for infiltrating Structure A. In an additional process step, subsequent to the printing job, an increase in the objects’ temperature results in the melting of the material reservoir B and infiltration of structure A. Findings – A thermally activated local melting of the polymethylsilsesquioxane results in densification of the printed structures and the local formation of structures with minimum surface area. Originality/value – The present work introduces an approach for the local relaxation of printed three-dimensional structures by the viscous flow of the printed material, without the loss of structural integrity of the structure itself. This approach is not restricted only to the materials used, but also offers a more general strategy for printing dense structures with a surface finish far beyond the volumetric resolution of the 3D printing process. KW - Printing KW - 3D PY - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-07-2014-0087 SN - 1355-2546 VL - 22 IS - 2 SP - 344 EP - 349 PB - Emerald AN - OPUS4-37447 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adel-Khattab, D. A1 - Giacomini, F. A1 - Gildenhaar, R. A1 - Berger, G. A1 - Gomes, Cynthia A1 - Linow, Ulf A1 - Hardt, M. A1 - Peleska, B. A1 - Günster, Jens A1 - Stiller, M. A1 - Houshmand, A. A1 - Ghaffar, K. A1 - Gamal, A. A1 - El-Mofty, M. A1 - Knabe, C. T1 - Development of a synthetic tissue engineered three- dimensional printed bioceramic-based bone graft with homogenously distributed osteoblasts and mineralizing bone matrix in vitro N2 - Over the last decade there have been increasing efforts to develop three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds for bone tissue Engineering from bioactive ceramics with 3D printing emerging as a promising technology. The overall objective of the present study was to generate a tissue engineered synthetic bone graft with homogenously distributed osteoblasts and mineralizing bone Matrix in vitro, thereby mimicking the advantageous properties of autogenous bone grafts and facilitating usage for reconstructing segmental discontinuity defects in vivo . To this end, 3D scaffolds were developed from a silica-containing calcium alkali orthophosphate, using, fi rst, a replica technique – the Schwartzwalder – Somers method – and, second, 3D printing, (i.e. rapid prototyping). The mechanical and physical scaffold properties and their potential to facilitate homogenous colonization by osteogenic cells and extracellular bone matrix formation throughout the porous scaffold architecture were examined. Osteoblastic cells were dynamically cultured for 7 days on both scaffold types with two different concentrations of 1.5 and 3 × 10⁹ cells/l. The amount of cells and bone matrix formed and osteogenic marker expression were evaluated using hard tissue histology, immunohistochemical and histomorphometric analysis. 3D-printed scaffolds (RPS) exhibited more micropores, greater compressive strength and silica release. RPS seeded with 3 × 10⁹ cells/l displayed greatest cell and extracellular Matrix formation, mineralization and osteocalcin expression. In conclusion, RPS displayed superior mechanical and biological properties and facilitated generating a tissue engineered synthetic bone graft in vitro, which mimics the advantageous properties of autogenous bone grafts, by containing homogenously distributed terminally differentiated osteoblasts and mineralizing bone matrix and therefore is suitable for subsequent in vivo implantation for regenerating segmental discontinuity bone defects. KW - Bone tissue engineering KW - Calcium alkali orthophosphate KW - Rapid prototyping KW - Scaffold KW - Mandible PY - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/term.2362 SN - 1932-6254 SN - 1932-7005 VL - 12 IS - 1 SP - 44 EP - 58 PB - Wiley Online Library AN - OPUS4-40745 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -