The Use of Triple Periodic Geometries for Scaffold Design in Tissue Engineering Applications

Introduction Tissue engineering represents a new, emerging interdisciplinary field involving combined efforts of biologists, engineers, material scientists and mathematicians towards the development of biological substitutes to restore, maintain, or improve tissue functions. Most strategies in tissue engineering have focussed on using biomaterials as scaffolds to direct specific cell types to organise into threedimensional structures and perform differentiated functions. Scaffolds provide a temporary mechanical and vascular support for tissue regeneration while shaping the in-growth tissues. These scaffolds must be biocompatible, biodegradable, with appropriate porosity, pore structure and pore distribution and optimal vascularisation, with both surface and structural compatibility. Surface compatibility means a chemical, biological and physical suitability to the host tissue. Structural compatibility corresponds to an optimal adaptation to the mechanical behaviour of the host tissue. Recent advances in the tissue engineering field are increasingly relying on modelling and simulation. The design of optimised scaffolds based on the fundamental knowledge of its microstructure is a relevant topic of research. This paper proposes the use of novel geometric structures based on the Triple Periodic Minimal Surfaces formulation. Geometries based on these surfaces enables the design of vary high surfaceto-volume ratio structures with high porosity and mechanical/vascular properties.