3D printers have the potential to quickly produce complex structures and materials — including bone scaffolds, if Washington State University scientists have their way. An interdisciplinary team of chemistry, materials science, biology, and manufacturing researchers produced a bone-like material using a 3D printer.

The commercially available ProMetal 3D printer, normally designed to make metal objects, was optimized by researchers to create this custom material. Researchers found that the addition of silicon and zinc more than doubled the strength of the main material, calcium phosphate.

The material could someday be used in orthopedic procedures, dental work, and to deliver medicine for treating osteoporosis. It could also be paired with actual bone to act as a scaffold for new bone to grow on.

"If a doctor has a CT scan of a defect, we can convert it to a CAD file and make the scaffold according to the defect,” said Susmita Bose, co-author and professor in WSU’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.

Related: Will 3D printers ever become a fixture in the average household?