Synthesis, characterization, and bioactivity investigation of biomimetic biodegradable PLA scaffold fabricated by fused filament fabrication process

Nowadays polylactic acid (PLA) is widely used in orthopedics surgeries as implants material due to well mechanical characterization and biomedical properties. But the PLA implants suffer from slow degradation rate when it is used in real-life scenario. In the present research work, the PLA specimens using additive manufacturing technique are fabricated and further assessed for mechanical characterization and its degradation behavior with different parameters. The change in weight of scaffolds was measured using digital weight measure, and pH value was measured using pH meter. Morphology and elemental composition of PLA scaffolds were characterized by SEM and EDS, respectively, while compressive strength is measured by the universal testing machine. Apatite formation and biocompatible nature of fabricated scaffolds were analyzed by in vitro simulated body fluid study. The outcomes of characterization exposed that scaffold with 60% infill percentage had maximum porosity, which is beneficial for the apatite formation and osseointegration. The average change in compressive strength was measured as 49.79 MPa after 14 days and 46.11 MPa after 28 days, whereas the average change in pH value was measured as 5.67 and 5.27 after 14 and 28 days of incubation period, respectively. The degradation rate of specimen 3 was 27.92% less than that of specimen 1, 35.69% less than that of specimen 5, and 87.98% more than that of specimen 9. This study concludes the positive effect of process parameters on degradation rate and biocompatible behavior of PLA implants.