Investigating the physical characteristics and cellular interplay on 3D-printed scaffolds depending on the incorporated silica size for hard tissue regeneration

Abstract Silica has been widely used in bone tissue regeneration which is known to increase the bone mineral density and reduce bone resorption. In this study, surface modified silica particles with different sizes (100, 500, and 800 nm) were incorporated with polycaprolactone (PCL) to study the influence of silica particle size on physical and biological properties. Controversial results were observed between the physical and biological properties. In terms of physical properties including surface roughness, hydrophilicity, and mechanical strength, the PCL scaffold with 800 nm-sized particles showed significantly enhanced results. However, the scaffold with 100 nm-sized particles significantly upregulated the biological properties such as human mesenchymal stem cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. This was also relevant for the in vivo results. Altogether, the results proved that the silica particle size influence the physical and biological properties of the PCL scaffold.