Engineering of silicone-based blends for the masked stereolithography of biosilicate/carbon composite scaffolds

Silicone resins, filled with phosphates and other oxide fillers, have been recently proposed as feedstock for the manufacturing of scaffolds with a composition resembling that of commercial Biosilicate® glass-ceramics. Silicones and engineered fillers enable the preparation of novel carbon-containing Biosilicate-based composites and, fundamentally, the easy application of additive manufacturing technologies. After successful demonstration of the applicability of direct ink writing of silicone-based pastes, the present paper is dedicated to preparation of highly porous scaffolds obtained by masked stereolithography, starting from a simple blend of silicone resin with commercial photocurable acrylates. Deviations in the desired phase assemblage were corrected by calibration of the silicone/fillers ratio. The more advanced printing technology, combined with ceramic transformation, allowed fabrication of scaffolds with a complex geometry and a distinctive control of overall porosity.