3D Bioplotter Research Papers

The development of tailor-made polymers to build artificial three-dimensional scaffolds to repair damaged skin tissues is gaining increasing attention in the bioelectronics field. Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is the gold standard conducting polymer for the bioelectronics field due to its high conductivity, thermal stability, and biocompatibility; however, it is insoluble and infusible, which limits its processability into three dimensional scaffolds. Here, poly(3,4-ethylendioxythiophene)-graft-poly(ε-caprolactone) copolymers, PEDOT-g-PCL, with different molecular weights and PEDOT compositions, were synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization to enhance the processability of PEDOT. First, the chemical structure and composition of the copolymers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, and…

Herein, we demonstrate 3D printing of an elastomeric imidazolium polyamide-ionene which exhibits intrinsic shape-memory (SM) and self-healing (SH) character, reporting optimized printing conditions and rheological properties. This study shows the suitability of this material for 3D-printing via fused deposition modeling. The 3D-printed objects retain elasticity and SM when external force is applied, and the elastomeric character is quantified via mechanical testing. This work highlights the benefits of SH behavior as a design feature combatting inherent material weaknesses or insufficient adhesion at seams and layer junctions. DFT calculations confirmed the importance of ionic interactions and H-bonding in the SH process.

The use of three-dimensional (3D) printable hydrogels for biomedical applications has attracted considerable attention as a consequence of the ability to precisely define the morphology of the printed object, allowing patients’ needs to be targeted. However, the majority of hydrogels do not possess suitable mechanical properties to fulfill an adequate rheological profile for printability, and hence, 3D printing of cross-linked networks is challenging and normally requires postprinting modifications to obtain the desired scaffolds. In this work, we took advantage of the crystallization process of poly(ethylene glycol) to print non-isocyanate poly(hydroxyurethane) hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties. As a consequence of the…