3D printed calcium sulfate (CS) is a promising material for on custom bone substitutes. Since it dissolves easily in body fluids, manufactured samples require to being improved to reduce solubility. The main aim of this study was reducing the dissolubility of CS based samples by using sintering and investigating the effect of heat treatment on their physical, chemical and structural properties. To observe the effect of heat treatment on samples, contact angles were measured, X-Ray diffraction

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... alysis (XRD) was performed, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs were captured before and after the sintering process, and the results were compared. Furthermore, sintered and non-sintered samples were soaked in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) to observe the impact of sintering on the solubility of the material. Also, three different pore sized scaffolds were manufactured to test the limits of the 3D printer for manufacturing of scaffolds with open pores. Sintering process results in a volume reduction and according to SEM results, CS grains were fused together after heat treatment. Although non-sintered CS sample starts to dissolve in high rate and nearly 1/3 of the sample was at the bottom of the glass in a matter of minutes, sintering creates more rigid structure and there were not visible dissolution in PBS at the end of a week. The contact angle of samples cannot be measured, so it can be concluded that 3D printed material showed a super-hydrophilic property. XRD diagram suggested that there is not any new phase created in the printing and sintering processes except related hydrates of CS. As a result of the 3D printing, 500 µm, 750 µm and 1000 µm pore sized scaffolds were manufactured, successfully. However, it was seen that 500 µm pores could not be open by using depowdering after the printing process.