Sutures are one of the most widely used medical devices with employment in over 12 million procedures per year globally.1 Yet, the ideal suture material does not exist. Over the years scientists and surgeons alike have set out to find a suture material that is biocompatible, easy to handle, does not cause unnecessary tissue damage and creates an optimal environment for wound healing.2 This has led to the discovery of numerous suture materials ranging from silk and catgut in the early 1800s to synthetic polymers such as polylactic acid and polyglycolide that are currently in use.3 Sutures on the market…
A 3D bioprinted pseudo-bone drug delivery scaffold was fabricated to display matrix strength, matrix resilience, as well as porous morphology of healthy human bone. Computer-aided design (CAD) software was employed for developing the 3D bioprinted scaffold. Further optimization of the scaffold was undertaken using MATLAB® software and artificial neural networks (ANN). Polymers employed for formulating the 3D scaffold comprised of polypropylene fumarate (PPF), free radical polymerized polyethylene glycol- polycaprolactone (PEG-PCL-PEG), and pluronic (PF127). Simvastatin was incorporated into the 3D bioprinted scaffolds to further promote bone healing and repair properties. The 3D bioprinted scaffold was characterized for its chemical, morphological, mechanical,…