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  4. 3D-Printed Porous Hydroxyapatite Formed via Enzymatic Mineralization
 
research article

3D-Printed Porous Hydroxyapatite Formed via Enzymatic Mineralization

Bono, Francesca  
•
Puiggalí-Jou, Anna
•
Cocchi, Greta  
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2026
Advanced Functional Materials

Bone combines mechanical resilience with low density and the ability to repair itself when damaged. Inspired by the fascinating density-normalized mechanical properties of bone, synthetic porous hydroxyapatite (HA)-based materials have been introduced. However, their production typically involves sintering, which is energy-intensive and restricts incorporation of biologically active components. Here, we introduce an enzyme-mediated strategy to 3D print HA-based composites that become load-bearing within 7 days of mineralization through an energy-efficient room-temperature process. This is achieved by embedding alkaline phosphatase in naturally derived hydrogel microfragments that are jammed to enable direct ink writing at room temperature. To control the porosity of the mineral-based composites, we include enzyme-free fragments. The resulting scaffolds exhibit compressive strengths of 3.65 MPa (5.5 MPa g−1 cm3 specific strength) and low cytotoxicity. Through the introduction of open pores constituting up to 52 vol.% of the scaffold, we enable cells to infiltrate the scaffolds, thereby opening up new possibilities for cells to remodel them. We foresee the combination of mechanical performance, bioactivity, and energy-efficient processing to open new avenues for bone tissue engineering and mineral repair, where broken structures have the potential to bear significant loads much faster than currently available solutions do.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1002/adfm.202526568
Scopus ID

2-s2.0-105031481790

Author(s)
Bono, Francesca  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Puiggalí-Jou, Anna

ETH Zürich

Cocchi, Greta  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Miccoli, Mariangela  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Maniura-Weber, Katharina

Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

Zenobi-Wong, Marcy

ETH Zürich

Amstad, Esther  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Date Issued

2026

Published in
Advanced Functional Materials
Subjects

3D printing

•

enzyme

•

granular hydrogels

•

hydroxyapatite

•

mineralization

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
SMAL  
Available on Infoscience
March 10, 2026
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/261201
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