AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025210212
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

3D-printed PETG/BC for bone tissue repair

Evangelos Daskalakis1,2†* Mohamed H. Hassan2†* Abdalla M. Omar2† Maria Kapousidou3 Dino Freitas1 Mehmet Cagirici1 Cian Vyas1 Hussein Mishbak5 Alexandra Lanot4 Niel C. Bruce4 Prasad Potluri3,6 Wajira Mirihanage3 Paulo J.D.S. Bartolo1*
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1 Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
2 Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, Oxford Road M13 9PL, UK
3 Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester, Oxford Road M13 9PL, UK
4 Biomedical Engineering Dept., School of Engineering, The university of Thi Qar, Iraq
5 Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
6 Northwest Composites Centre and Aerospace Research Institute, Department of Materials, Faculty of Science and Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, UK
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
Received: 21 May 2025 | Accepted: 15 July 2025 | Published online: 16 July 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Bone tissue supports the body, enables movement, protects organs, produces blood cells and stores minerals. In regenerative medicine, bone’s natural healing ability drives the need for engineered solutions to treat fractures, defects, and support implants. This study explores the development of poly(ethylene terephthalate glycol) (PETG) and PETG/bacterial cellulose (BC) composite scaffolds with varying BC contents (10, 15, and 20 wt%) for bone tissue engineering. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed porous structures with increasing surface roughness as BC content rose. Water contact angle analysis showed enhanced hydrophilicity in PETG/BC composites, particularly at higher BC levels. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirmed successful BC integration and interactions with PETG, along with increased crystallinity. Mechanical testing indicated that compressive strength improved with higher BC content, with 20 wt% BC achieving optimal performance. Biological tests using human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSc) showed enhanced proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization on PETG/BC scaffolds. Among all, the 20 wt% BC scaffold demonstrated the most favorable physical, mechanical, and biological properties. Overall, PETG/BC scaffolds, especially those with 20 wt% BC, show strong potential for future bone tissue engineering applications.

Keywords
Polyethylene terephthalate glycol
Bacterial cellulose
Additive manufacturing
Tissue engineering
Stem cells
Biomaterial
Funding
This project has been partially supported by the University of Manchester and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK grant number EP/V011766/1, and This work was supported by the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials of the grant number EP/S019367/1.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing