Abstract:The development of cell printing is vital for establishing biofabrication approaches as clinically relevant tools. Achieving this requires bio-inks which must not only be easily printable, but also allow controllable and reproducible printing of cells. This review outlines the general principles and current progress and compares the advantages and challenges for the most widely used biofabrication techniques for printing cells: extrusion, laser, microvalve, inkjet and tissue fragment printing. It is expected t… Show more
“…[8][9][10][11][12] The preparation of complex 3D shapes from conventional 13 and tough [14][15] hydrogels has been demonstrated. These studies have generally been limited to printing a single ink to produce objects of uniform composition.…”
An additive manufacturing process that combines digital modeling and 3D printing was used to prepare fiber reinforced hydrogels in a single-step process. The composite materials were fabricated by selectively pattering a combination of alginate/acrylamide gel precursor solution and an epoxy based UV-curable adhesive (Emax 904 Gel-SC) with an extrusion printer. UV irradiation was used to cure the two inks into a single composite material. Spatial control of fiber distribution within the digital models allowed for the fabrication of a series of materials with a spectrum of swelling behavior and mechanical properties with physical characteristics ranging from soft and wet to hard and dry. A comparison with the "rule of mixtures" was used to show that the swollen composite materials adhere to standard composite theory. A prototype meniscus cartilage was prepared to illustrate the potential application in bioengineering.
ABSTRACTAn additive manufacturing process that combines digital modeling and 3D printing was used to prepare fibre reinforced hydrogels in a single-step process. The composite materials were fabricated by selectively pattering a combination of alginate/acrylamide gel precursor solution and an epoxy based UV-curable adhesive (Emax 904 Gel-SC) with an extrusion printer. UV irradiation was used to cure the two inks into a single composite material. Spatial control of fibre distribution within the digital models allowed for the fabrication of a series of materials with a spectrum of swelling behaviour and mechanical properties with physical characteristics ranging from soft and wet to hard and dry. A comparison with the 'rule of mixtures' was used to show that the swollen composite materials adhere to standard composite theory. A prototype meniscus cartilage was prepared to illustrate the potential application in bioengineering.
“…[8][9][10][11][12] The preparation of complex 3D shapes from conventional 13 and tough [14][15] hydrogels has been demonstrated. These studies have generally been limited to printing a single ink to produce objects of uniform composition.…”
An additive manufacturing process that combines digital modeling and 3D printing was used to prepare fiber reinforced hydrogels in a single-step process. The composite materials were fabricated by selectively pattering a combination of alginate/acrylamide gel precursor solution and an epoxy based UV-curable adhesive (Emax 904 Gel-SC) with an extrusion printer. UV irradiation was used to cure the two inks into a single composite material. Spatial control of fiber distribution within the digital models allowed for the fabrication of a series of materials with a spectrum of swelling behavior and mechanical properties with physical characteristics ranging from soft and wet to hard and dry. A comparison with the "rule of mixtures" was used to show that the swollen composite materials adhere to standard composite theory. A prototype meniscus cartilage was prepared to illustrate the potential application in bioengineering.
ABSTRACTAn additive manufacturing process that combines digital modeling and 3D printing was used to prepare fibre reinforced hydrogels in a single-step process. The composite materials were fabricated by selectively pattering a combination of alginate/acrylamide gel precursor solution and an epoxy based UV-curable adhesive (Emax 904 Gel-SC) with an extrusion printer. UV irradiation was used to cure the two inks into a single composite material. Spatial control of fibre distribution within the digital models allowed for the fabrication of a series of materials with a spectrum of swelling behaviour and mechanical properties with physical characteristics ranging from soft and wet to hard and dry. A comparison with the 'rule of mixtures' was used to show that the swollen composite materials adhere to standard composite theory. A prototype meniscus cartilage was prepared to illustrate the potential application in bioengineering.
“…[4][5][6][7] Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymer networks capable of retaining large volumes of water in common with much soft biological tissue. When printing these materials a hydrogel precursor solution is patterned into a defined shape that is subsequently fixed by gelation.…”
Three-dimensional (3D) printing of hydrogels has recently been investigated for use in tissue engineering applications. One major limitation in the use of synthetic hydrogels is their poor mechanical robustness but the development of 'tough hydrogels' in conjunction with additive fabrication techniques will accelerate the advancement of many technologies including soft robotics, bionic implants, sensors and controlled release systems. This article demonstrates that ionic-covalent entanglement (ICE) gels can be fabricated through a modified extrusion printing process that facilitates in situ photopolymerisation. The rheological properties of alginate-acrylamide hydrogel precursor solutions were characterised to develop formulations suitable for extrusion printing. A range of these printed hydrogels were prepared and their mechanical performance and swelling behaviour evaluated. ICE gels exhibit a remarkable mechanical performance because ionic cross links in the biopolymer network act as sacrificial bonds that dissipate energy under stress. The printed ICE gels have a work of extension 260 3 kj m3. Swelling the hydrogels in water has a detrimental effect upon their mechanical properties, however swelling the hydrogels in a calcium chloride solution as a post-processing technique reduces the effects of swelling the hydrogels in water. The integration of the modified extrusion printing process with existing plastic 3D printing technologies will allow for the fabrication of functional devices.Keywords printing, hydrogels, entanglement, extrusion, covalent, toughness, ionic, high
Disciplines
Engineering | Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Publication DetailsBakarich, S., in het Panhuis, M., Beirne, S. T., Wallace, G. G. and Spinks, G. Maxwell. (2013) Three-dimensional (3D) printing of hydrogels has recently been investigated for use in tissue engineering applications. One major limitation in the use of synthetic hydrogels is their poor mechanical robustness but the development of 'tough hydrogels' in conjunction with additive fabrication techniques will accelerate the advancement of many technologies including soft robotics, bionic implants, sensors and 10 controlled release systems. This article demonstrates that ionic-covalent entanglement (ICE) gels can be fabricated through a modified extrusion printing process that facilitates in situ photopolymerisation. The rheological properties of alginate/acrylamide hydrogel precursor solutions were characterised to develop formulations suitable for extrusion printing. A range of these printed hydrogels were prepared and their mechanical performance and swelling behaviour evaluated. ICE gels exhibit a remarkable mechanical 15 performance because ionic cross links in the biopolymer network act as sacrificial bonds that dissipate energy under stress. The printed ICE gels have a work of extension 260 ± 3 kJ/m 3 . Swelling the hydrogels in water has a detrimental effect upon their mechanical properties, however swelling the hydrogels in a calcium chloride solution as a ...
“…Recently, it has seen a surge in activity and it is currently used in most research fields that depend on fabrication of materials, such as tissue engineering [5,6]. Its use for fabrication of fins for surfboard is relatively new with a growing number of examples available on the internet [7].…”
We demonstrate that Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) is a viable approach to rapidly prototype personalised fins for surfboards. Surfing is an iconic sport that is extremely popular in coastal regions around the world. We use computer aided design and 3D printing of a wide range of composite materials to print fins for surfboards, e.g. ABS, carbon fibre, fibre glass and amorphous thermoplastic poly(etherimide) resins. The mechanical characteristics of our 3D printed fins were found to be comparable to commercial fins. Computational fluid dynamics was employed to calculate longitudinal (drag) and tangential (turning) forces, which are important for surfboard maneuverability, stability and speed. A commercial tracking system was used to evaluate the performance of 3D printed fins under real-world conditions (i.e. surfing waves). These data showed that the surfing performance of surfboards with 3D printed fins is similar to that of surfboards with commercial fins.
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