Computer-aided design and fabrication of bio-mimetic materials and scaffold micro-structures

Computer-aided design (CAD) has proven effective in enabling novel approaches for tissue engineering applications. This paper demonstrates the applicability of various mathematical methods to design and fabricate bio-mimetic materials via two illustrative examples. Firstly, CAD models of cellular biomaterials that mimic the micro-structure of cuttlefish bone are designed based on the principles of the homogenization method. Secondly, a three-dimensional bi-objective topology optimization approach based upon the inverse homogenization method is used to design scaffold micro-structures with tailored effective stiffness and permeability properties. Consequently, solid free-form fabrication is used to fabricate such cellular bio-mimetic materials, which show a great potential in tissue engineering applications.