Fabrication of PCL/β‐TCP scaffolds by 3D mini‐screw extrusion printing

ABSTRACT Scaffolds of polycaprolactone (PCL) and PCL composites reinforced with β‐tricalcium phosphate (β‐TCP) were manufactured aiming potential tissue engineering applications. They were fabricated using a three‐dimensional (3D) mini‐screw extrusion printing, a novel additive manufacturing process, which consists in an extrusion head coupled to a 3D printer based on the Fab@Home equipment. Thermal properties were obtained by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses. Scaffolds morphology were observed using scanning electron microscopy and computed microtomography; also, reinforcement presence was observed by X‐ray diffraction and the polymer chemical structure by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Mechanical properties under compression were obtained by using a universal testing machine and hydrophilic properties were studied by measuring the contact angle of water drops. Finally, scaffolds with 55% of porosity and a pore size of 450 μm have shown promising mechanical properties; the β‐TCP reinforcement improved mechanical and hydrophilic behavior in comparison with PCL scaffolds. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43031.