Characterization of Copper- and Bronze-Filled PLA:Mechanical, Structural, and Biological Insights forBiomedical 3D and 4D Printing

Kardos, Kinga and Paari-Molnar, Emese and Told, Roland and Len, Adél and Szabó, Péter and Ujfalusi, Zoltán and Steinerbrunner-Nagy, Alexandra and Pongrácz, Judit and Maróti, Péter (2025) Characterization of Copper- and Bronze-Filled PLA:Mechanical, Structural, and Biological Insights forBiomedical 3D and 4D Printing. MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING, 311 (1). No. e00316. ISSN 1438-7492

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Abstract

Material extrusion (MEX), particularly Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), is a widely used 3D printing technology, with growinginterest in composite materials due to their broad range of applications. This study focuses on commercially available copper-and bronze-filled polylactic-acid (PLA) composites printed with FFF technology and on providing guidance for future practicalapplications, particularly in the biomedical field and 4D printing. In this research, static and dynamic mechanical tests, scanningelectron microscopic imaging, and electric resistance measurements were conducted, and the thermal properties were determinedby thermal conductivity measurements and differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis (DSC-TGA).Cytotoxicity was assessed using an A549 cell viability assay. The results show that the material’s brittleness increases in proportionto the volume percentage of metal particles; among the copper composites FormFutura MetalFil – Classic copper (29.14 vol.%)had the lower tensile strength (15.4 MPa ± 0.17 MPa), while for bronze composites, the tensile strength was lower for ColorFabbBronzeFill (33.64 vol.%, 17.7 MPa ± 0.54 MPa). Furthermore, these composites have no cytotoxic effect in short-term contact, andtheir enhanced thermal conductivity over traditional prosthetic materials makes them promising candidates for the developmentof prostheses intended to mitigate thermal discomfort.

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