3D Bioplotter Research Papers

The performance of Polysulfide Bromide Flow Batteries (PBS) is depended on the design of the electrodes, which plays a crucial role in ensuring optimal electrolyte distribution and conductivity. These factors are essential for facilitating efficient electrochemical kinetics. This study introduces a novel approach to electrode fabrication using polyacrylonitrile/graphene composites through 3D printing, which enhances structural uniformity and electrical conductivity. The incorporation of reduced graphene oxide, with an electrical conductivity of 23 S/m, into polyacrylonitrile-based electrodes substantially improves their electrical conductivity. Unlike traditional techniques that produce randomly oriented fibers, 3D printing offers precise control over electrode architecture. This enables uniform electrolyte…

Untethered robots, compared with their tethered counterparts, may bring enhanced autonomy. It is highly desirable to engineer multifunctional, lightweight, rapid, and low-voltage driven untethered soft robots that have enhanced adaptability and safer interaction capabilities. Here we present an untethered soft robot by a smart integration of 4D printed liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) actuators with the associated electronics. The LCE artificial muscle, which consists of a modified LCE sandwiched between a polyimide based heating film and a silicone adhesive, not only has adjustable transition temperatures (39–46 °C) and modulus (0.61–2.57 MPa) but also has decent mechanical properties such as adequate rigidity…

Two high-compliance β-Ti alloys – Ti–12Nb–12Zr–12Sn and Ti–6Nb–6Mo–12Zr–12Sn (wt.%) – are manufactured into microlattices via 3D ink-extrusion printing of elemental and hydride powders, followed by sintering and solutionizing at 1400 °C. This study reveals that the formation of “oxygen-rich walls” plays a critical role in triggering embrittlement with intragranular cracking. In compression tests, the Ti–12Nb–12Zr–12Sn microlattices exhibit high compliance (2–6 GPa) but low collapse strength (25–115 MPa) along with semi-brittle behavior, even though stress-induced α” martensite is triggered: stress-strain serrations are explained by the oxygen-rich walls decorated with α plates and athermal ω nanostructures. Nanostructures along these walls are caused by the formation…

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc is a heterogeneous fibrocartilaginous tissue positioned between the mandibular condyle and glenoid fossa of the temporal bone, with important roles in TMJ functions. Tissue engineering TMJ discs has emerged as an alternative approach to overcoming limitations of current treatments for TMJ disorders. However, the anisotropic collagen orientation and inhomogeneous fibrocartilaginous matrix distribution present challenges in the tissue engineering of functional TMJ discs. Here, we developed 3-dimensional (3D)–printed anatomically correct scaffolds with region-variant microstrand alignment, mimicking anisotropic collagen alignment in the TMJ disc and corresponding mechanical properties. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and transforming growth factor…

3D printing enables precise control over tablet design and drug release, but challenges remain in optimising ink formulation, ensuring printability, and predicting final tablet properties. This study addresses the need for data-driven strategies in fabricating chewable tablets and tests the hypothesis that integrating rheology with machine learning (ML) enables predictive control over print quality and dosage form performance. We developed drug nanosuspension inks with varying water content (85–20 wt.%) and identified 40% as optimal, balancing shear-thinning behaviour, yield stress, and shear recovery for consistent extrusion. Analytical models predicted strut diameter (D) based on printing parameters—pressure (P), speed (v), and nozzle…

Macrophage polarisation is crucial for initiating inflammation in response to biomaterial scaffolds, significantly influencing tissue integration and regeneration in vivo. Modulating macrophage polarisation towards a tissue-regeneration-favouring phenotype through the physical properties of scaffolds offers a promising strategy to enhance tissue regeneration while minimising unfavourable immune responses. However, the critical impact of scaffold physical properties, such as size-scale dimensions, orientation of architectural cues, and local-stiffness of these cues on macrophage polarisation, remains largely unexplored and inadequately understood. This study investigates the combinatorial effects of the physical properties of 3D scaffolds made from poly (-caprolactone) on human macrophage polarisation. Our findings indicate…

Biomaterials are widely used as orthopaedic implants and bone graft substitutes. We aimed to develop a rapid osteogenic assessment method using a murine tibial periosteal ossification model to evaluate the bone formation/remodelling potential of a biomaterial within 2–4 weeks. A novel hydroxyapatite/aragonite (HAA) biomaterial was implanted into C57BL/6 mice juxtaskeletally between the tibia and tibialis anterior muscle. Rapid intramembranous bone formation was observed at 14 days, with 4- to 8-fold increases in bone thickness and callus volume in comparison with sham-operated animals (p < 0.0001), followed by bone remodelling and a new layer of cortical bone formation by 28 days after implantation.…

Patients with chronic stenosis of their ear canal may benefit from additively manufactured individualized drug containing external ear canal implants (EECI) [1] that keep the ear canal open and support the healing of the affected tissue. To guarantee the safety of the patients, the sterilization of implants is important. Autoclaving is a fast and well-established sterilization method, but the heat of the process may damage any drug contained within the implants. To evaluate the suitability of autoclaving EECIs, we tested samples for bio-efficacy and the released drug amount within 3 days.

The use of 3D scaffolds based on mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBG) enhanced with therapeutic ions, biomolecules and cells is emerging as a strategy to improve bone healing. In this paper, the osteogenic capability of ZnO-enriched MBG scaffolds loaded or not with osteostatin (OST) and human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) was evaluated after implantation in New Zealand rabbits. Cylindrical meso-macroporous scaffolds with composition (mol %) 82.2SiO2–10.3CaO–3.3P2O5–4.2ZnO (4ZN) were obtained by rapid prototyping and then, coated with gelatin for easy handling and potentiating the release of inorganic ions and OST. Bone defects (7.5 mm diameter, 12 mm depth) were drilled in the distal femoral…

In vitro models of soft tissues, such as neural, vitreous, or hematopoietic human tissues, require three-dimensional (3D), soft, and functionalized constructs that mimic the complex extracellular microenvironment and support tissue growth and differentiation. While bioprinting has gained significant interest in bioengineering, there is limited research on process control for the biomanufacturing of soft tissues, which is still in its early stages. Material extrusion of suspended hydrogels has shown promise in processing low-viscosity inks, but challenges in developing bioinks that maintain good shape fidelity, repeatability, and long-term stability in culture media have slowly progressed. In this study, we optimize the bioprinting…