In a recent article published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B, iBB researchers working in collaboration with colleagues from Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), CDRSP-Politécnico de Leiria and CERENA, demonstrated a synergistic effect between 3D printed porous electroconductive scaffolds and electrical stimulation (EStim) in the enhancement of the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hBMSCs), envisaging improved bone tissue engineering (BTE) strategies. The 3D scaffolds were fabricated in polycaprolactone (PCL) and coated with the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) following previously optimized strategies. Results show that the PEDOT:PSS coatings are electroconductive (11.3–20.1 S cm−1), stable (up to 21 days in saline solution), allow the immobilization of gelatin (Gel) to further improve bioactivity, and enhance the in vitro mineralization of the scaffolds. Finite element modelling allowed the prediction of the magnitude and distribution of the electrical fields within the conductive scaffolds structure when submitted to EStim. The osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs was performed with and without EStim and the abovementioned synergy between conductive materials and EStim in the improvement of BTE strategies was clearly shown by the increased cell-secreted calcium deposition (tissue mineralization) and by the upregulation of bone-specific marker genes. This study was coordinated by Dr. João C. Silva (iBB) and Dr. Fabio Garrudo (iBB and IT) and performed under the scope of the FCT projects BioMaterARISES (EXPL/CTM-CTM/0995/2021) and InSilico4OCReg (PTDC/EME-SIS/0838/2021).
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