AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ijb.8577
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Computational investigation of a 3D-printed osteochondral interface scaffold with comprehensive interfacial mechanical properties

Kaicheng Yu1,2 ,  Qiang Gao1,2* ,  Yanling Mi1,2 ,  Yifeng Yao1,2 ,  Zexue Lin1,2 ,  Min Zhu2,3 ,  Peng Zhang1,2 ,  Swee Leong Sing4* ,  Lihua Lu1,2*
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1 School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
2 Chongqing Research Institute of HIT, Chongqing, China
3 School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
4 Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
IJB 2025, 11(2), 353–369; https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.8577
Submitted: 17 January 2025 | Accepted: 12 February 2025 | Published: 12 February 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a highly prevalent rheumatic musculoskeletal disorder that often results in both physiological dysfunction and psychological distress. Although many tissue engineering approaches have been proposed for tissue regeneration, the mechanical properties of many scaffolds remain insufficient to fully meet the mechanical demands within the joint. This paper presents a computational investigation and structural design for creating an osteochondral interface scaffold using extrusion-based 3D printing. A finite element method-based mechanics simulation model was employed to evaluate the effects of load-bearing forces on various scaffold designs, enabling the analysis of stress distribution within the biomimetic osteochondral interface. Several structures of osteochondral interface scaffolds were fabricated, demonstrating controllable mechanical properties. The proposed biomimetic osteochondral interface manifested comprehensive mechanical performance, with bonding strength, compressive strength, and shear strength reaching 128, 277, and 276 kPa, respectively. Our research can benefit the future development in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Computational modeling
Extrusion-based 3D printing
Mechanical properties
Osteochondral interface
Funding
The authors deeply acknowledge the financial support from the Key Research and Development Plan Project of Heilongjiang Province [Grant No. 2022ZX02C22]; the Science and Technology Innovation Talent Project on Manufacturing Industry of Harbin [Grant No. 2023HBRCGD011 and 2022CXRCGD029]; the Interdisciplinary Research Foundation of HIT [Grant No. IR2021223]; and the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing [Grant No. CSTB2023NSCQ-MSX0822].
Conflict of interest
Swee Leong Sing is the Editorial Board Member of the journal, but did not in any way involve in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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