In-vitro characterization of 3D printed PLA scaffold with hydroxyapatite-chitosan coating for mandibula reconstruction

The mandibula is a part of the face that determines its shape as well as a place to attach the muscles of the mouth which has functions for chewing, swallowing, talking and yawning. Similar to other body organs, the mandibular bone can experience abnormalities, such as benign and malignant tumors. The tumor can potentially cause physiological and aesthetic disorders, so it needs to be resected in order to remove the infected part. This research was conducted to find out the potentials of 3D printed PLA scaffold with hydroxyapatite-chitosan coating for mandibula reconstructing through the contact angle test, the water absorption test and the biocompatibility test by in-vitro. The scaffold was made from polylactic acid (PLA) using 3D printing method of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) with a pore diameter of 1000 μm. Polylactic acid (PLA) is bioactive and hydrophobic filaments that needed to be coated with a bioactive material such as hydroxyapatite as well as a hydrophilic material such as chitosan. The composition variations of hydroxyapatite-chitosan which were used as the coating include A (70:30), B (60:40), C (50:50), D (40:60) and E (30:70). To determine the characteristics of the scaffold, several characterizations were carried out, namely the contact angle tests, the absorbency tests and the biocompatibility test. The characterization result from the contact angle test showed that PLA scaffold which has been coated with hydroxyapatite-chitosan is hydrophilic with contact angles of 45.7-71.3° in 25 minutes. The absorption test result showed a number of 4.15-9.34% from the first day to 9.57-12.90% on the seventh day which indicated that as the concentration of the chitosan increases, the water absorption also increases. Meanwhile, the biocompatibility test proved that scaffolds are non-toxic and safe for the body because they have a cell viability of 92.74-111.42%.