Natural bone is a composite material composed of organic and inorganic components. However, although bone is a thoroughly studied tissue, there is still a challenge when attempting to replicate these characteristics outside of living organisms. This is a consequence of the fact that bone regeneration is not only influenced by the biological and physical characteristics of scaffolds, but also by other aspects such as physical cues or signals that are generated by external factors. A strong interest in use of bioresorbable porous ceramics for biomedical applications appeared in the last 50 years as alternatives to metallic implants. However, if these synthetic 3D structures present promising properties in terms of bioactivity, they do not integrate the possibility of mimicking the dynamic signals present in vivo in the bone. The emergence of electronic conductive polymers offers the opportunity to transform these synthetic and passive structures into 4D dynamic architectures. The main objective of this work is the development of new functional hybrid bioceramic-based materials for bone regeneration application, merging osteoregenerative properties of current bioceramic implants adding functionalities as the electrical cues of conductive polymers.

Regarding the processing of this hybrid materials, despite the clear relevance of the properties of composite biomaterials even today their processing with innovative techniques as the Additive Manufacturing (AM) continues being an inconvenience. Among AM techniques, the researcher group who has proposed an alternative colloidal processing technique to prepare a colloidal feedstock for FFF improving the load dispersion in a polymeric matrix. The successful printing of the hybrid composite using the colloidal chemistry allowed to stabilize and organize the HA and PEDOT phases without disturbing the printability of the composite. The possibility to print this new family of 4D biomaterials brings 3D printing closer to 4D printing.