Abstract
Background: Nonconventional fabrication technologies (e.g., additive manufacturing and 3D bioprinting) represent a challenging approach to the design of 3D scaffolds as extracellular matrix analogues with appropriate properties for supporting cell behavior over time. Methods: A strategy to develop 3D additive manufactured hybrid scaffolds with dual porosity and tailored morphological and mechanical/functional features was proposed via the combination of synthetic (poly-ε-caprolactone) and natural (chitosan) polymers. Design of 3D additive manufactured hybrid scaffolds, morphological analysis, in vitro swelling and degradation measurements, mechanical measurements, antimicrobial assays against both oral cavity-specific and nonoral bacteria, and biological assays using periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) or human osteosarcoma cells (MG63) were carried out. Results: The inclusion of the chitosan network improves the dimensional stability of the structure as well as the cell retention effect, ensuring antimicrobial activity. Conclusion: The current study represents a first step for future complex works with the aim of studying the effect of the inclusion of chitosan network in a 3D porous multifunctional structure obtained via additive manufacturing technologies, also taking into account the possibility of modulating the mechanical behavior, adopting two different swelling and degradation rates in order to tune drug/protein/gene delivery over time, and thus tailoring the tissue regeneration process and the health of the oral microbiota.