Dr. Yujiang Fan is a professor in Collagen of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, and the vice director of National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials. He received his Ph. D (2001) at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, postdoctoral research (2001-2003) at Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan, and worked at the National Institute for Materials Science, Japan (2003-2006). He joined Sichuan University, China, at 2006. His research interests focus on bone/cartilage/soft tissue regenerative biomaterials and advanced manufacturing technologies for biomaterials. He published over 200 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals of biomaterials, e.g., Nat Commu, Adv Mater, ACS Nano, Adv Fun Mater, Bioact Mater, etc., and obtained more than 50 inventions patents. He developed medical devices such as chondrogenic inducing hydrogels and 3D-pringting bioceramics implants. He won the 1st prize of Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, and the 2nd prize of National Teaching Achievement Award. He serves as board-member and chairman of Bone Repair Materials Division of CSBM.

Topic title: Additive Manufactured Bioactive Bone Regeneration Scaffold with Multilevel Structures

Abstract:

Bone tissue has a complex organic/inorganic composite multilayered structure, and its unique composition and structure endow bone tissue with superior strength and toughness. Imitating the organic/inorganic components of bone tissue is an important way to develop composites for bone regeneration and repair. Additive manufacturing technology is capable of precisely regulating the microstructure of composites, which can effectively improve the bone regeneration performance of composites. Using collagen and hydroxyapatite, which are constituents of natural bone tissue, several additively manufactured bioactive ceramic composite scaffolds were fabricated by 3D printing. These bionic composite scaffolds were comprehensively evaluated through physicochemical characterization, biological performance evaluation based on cellular experiments and animal experiments, as well as in situ bone defect regeneration and repair, and the mechanism of bone regeneration was explored. The results showed that the 3D printed composites could effectively enhance the mechanical properties of the bone scaffolds, promote cell recruitment, proliferation, differentiation, accelerate the formation of regenerative tissues, and promote vascularization. Animal experiments on in situ bone defect repair confirmed that 3D printed organic/inorganic composite scaffold were effective in achieving regenerative repair of critical cranial bone defects.

Key words：additive manufacture; bioactive ceramics; collagen; composites; bone healing