Bioactive glasses are promising materials for bone scaffolds due to their ability to assist in tissue regeneration. When implanted in vivo, bioactive glasses can convert to hydroxyapatite, the main mineral constituent of human bone and form a strong bond with the surrounding tissues, thus providing an advantage over polymer scaffold materials. Bone scaffold fabrication using additive manufacturing techniques like selective laser sintering (SLS) provide control over pore interconnectivity during the fabrication of scaffold, which helps in mimicking human trabecular bone. 13-93 glass, a third-generation bioactive material designed to accelerate the body\u27s natural ability to heal itself, was used in the research described herein to fabricate bone scaffolds using SLS process. 13-93 bioactive glass mixed with stearic acid (as the polymer binder) by ball milling was used as the powder feedstock for the SLS machine. The fabricated green scaffolds underwent binder burnout to remove the stearic acid binder and were then sintered at temperatures between 675ʻC and 700ʻC. The sintered scaffolds had pore sizes ranging from 300 µm to 800 µm with 50% apparent porosity and a maximum compressive strength of 23.6 MPa, which is the highest reported for controlled porosity scaffolds fabricated with bioactive glasses using the SLS process. The MTT labeling experiment and measurements of MTT formazan formation are evidence that the rough surface of SLS scaffolds, as seen in scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, provides a cell-friendly surface capable of supporting robust cell growth --Abstract, page iv
