Osteosarcoma growth on trabecular bone mimicking structures manufactured via laser direct write

This paper describes the direct laser write of a photocurable acrylate-based PolyHIPE (High Internal Phase Emulsion) to produce scaffolds with both macro- and microporosity, and the use of these scaffolds in osteosarcoma-based 3D cell culture. The macroporosity was introduced via the application of stereolithography to produce a classical woodpile structure with struts having an approximate diameter of 200 m and pores were typically around 500 m in diameter. The PolyHIPE retained its microporosity after stereolithographic manufacture, with a range of pore sizes typically between 10 and 60 m (with most pores between 20 and 30 m). The resulting scaffolds were suitable substrates for further modification using acrylic acid plasma polymerisation. This scaffold was used as a structural mimic of the trabecular bone and in vitro determination of biocompatibility using cultured bone cells (MG63) demonstrated that cells were able to colonise all materials tested, with evidence that acrylic acid plasma polymerisation improved biocompatibility in the long term. The osteosarcoma cell culture on the 3D printed scaffold exhibits different growth behaviour than observed on tissue culture plastic or a flat disk of the porous material; tumour spheroids are observed on parts of the scaffolds. The growth of these spheroids indicates that the osteosarcoma behave more akin to in vivo in this 3D mimic of trabecular bone. It was concluded that PolyHIPEs represent versatile biomaterial systems with considerable potential for the manufacture of complex devices or scaffolds for regenerative medicine. In particular, the possibility to readily mimic the hierarchical structure of native tissue enables opportunities to build in vitro models closely resembling tumour tissue.