3D Bioplotter Research Papers

Complex shaped bone defects that need to be filled are very common in clinic. But after filling, gaps are inevitably left between substitutes and host bone due to the poor conformability of preformed implants, hence hindering bone regeneration. Therefore, based on our previous study, we here used the bioink (named PPG) composed of polyurethane, polyacrylamide, and gelatin with optimized composition ratio to three-dimensionally (3D) print an inorganic/organic composite hydrogel scaffold with self-expandability to fill irregular bone defects and bioactivity to accelerate bone healing through adjusting the content of bioactive ceramic (BC). The results indicated that, the 3D printed BC/PPG scaffold…

Repair of articular cartilage defects is a major challenge in orthopedic surgery due to the deficient self-regeneration capability. Cartilage tissue engineering scaffolds provide a promising approach to cartilage defect repair. Proper mechanical properties, interconnected internal structure, customized shape, and minimally invasive treatment are urgent requirements for a qualified cartilage scaffold. Here, a shape memory composite used for cartilage defects is prepared by adding nanohydroxyapatite into a shape memory polyurethane matrix, exhibiting good mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Based on its rheological properties, the composite melt can be printed into 4D printed structures with high precision and quality in a simple and…

4D printing is an advanced manufacturing technology combining additive manufacturing with smart materials. Based on light-active shape memory composites, smart medical structures with remote control capability, therapeutic function, and biocompatibility are hopefully fabricated by 4D printing. Here, a multifunctional composite with good mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and light-active shape memory performance is prepared by incorporating gold nanoparticles into a shape memory polyurethane matrix. The composites demonstrate a rapid and stable light-thermal effect, which can achieve localized and controlled breast tumor ablation, providing an approach to hyperthermia treatment for cancer cells. By directly bioprinting the composite melt, a series of 4D-printed structures…

Currently, the implants used for enophthalmic invagination have the disadvantages of precise filling difficulty, weak filling ability, large surgical wounds, and lack of CT development. Here, a CT-developable orbital stent was manufactured via 4D printing of a shape memory polyurethane composite for enophthalmos treatment. The composite was endowed with good CT development properties via incorporation of gold nanoparticles and nano-hydroxyapatite. Based on the bionic idea and CT reconstruction technique, a 4D printed orbital stent with a bionic honeycomb pore structure and an outer contour matching the orbital coloboma was designed to support the orbital tissue more accurately and stably. CT…

Effective skeletal muscle tissue engineering relies on control over the scaffold architecture for providing muscle cells with the required directionality, together with a mechanical property match with the surrounding tissue. Although recent advances in 3D printing fulfill the first requirement, the available synthetic polymers either are too rigid or show unfavorable surface and degradation profiles for the latter. In addition, natural polymers that are generally used as hydrogels lack the required mechanical stability to withstand the forces exerted during muscle contraction. Therefore, one of the most important challenges in the 3D printing of soft and elastic tissues such as skeletal…

A three-dimensional (3D) printed biodegradable hydrogel scaffold with a strong self-expanding ability to conform to the contour of irregular bone defects and be closely adjacent to host tissues is reported herein. The scaffold has a triple cross-linked network structure consisting of photo-cross-linked polyacrylamide (PAAM) and polyurethane (PU) as the primary IPN network and chemical cross-linked gelatin (Gel) as the secondary network, which confers the scaffold with good mechanical properties. The addition of PU in the polymerization process of acrylamide (AAM) can improve the ultraviolet (UV) photocuring efficiency of the hydrogel and incorporate abundant hydrogen bonds between the PAAM copolymer chain…

Increasing demands for optical anticounterfeiting technology require the development of versatile luminescent materials with tunable photoluminescence properties. Herein, a number of fluorescent carbon‐ and oxygen‐doped hexagonal boron nitride (denoted as BCNO) phosphors are found to offer a such high‐tech anticounterfeiting solution. These multicolor BCNO powders, developed in a two‐step process with controlled annealing and oxidation, feature rod‐like particle shape, with varied luminescence properties. Studies of the optical properties of BCNO, along with other characterization, provide insight into this underexplored material. Anticounterfeiting applications are demonstrated with printed patterns which are indistinguishable to the naked eye under visible light but become highly…

Highlights * An elastic degradable polyurethane (PU) bearing pendent HSNGLPL peptide for TGF-β1 affinity binding mimics the extracellular matrix function to retain and release growth factors. * The pendant peptide sequence presented a high affinity for TGF-β1 retaining, even when the surface was pre-coated with other proteins. * The synthesized PU shows good extrusion processing ability and can be printed into 3D scaffolds with designed porous structures. * The released TGF-β1 from surface conjugating was tested by differentiation guiding experiments of ATDC5 cells in vitro and the regeneration of the surrounding tissue after implanting in vivo.

Two important rapid-prototyping technologies (3D Printing and 3D Bioplotting) were compared with respect to the computer-aided design and free-form fabrication of biodegradable polyurethane scaffolds meeting the demands of tissue-engineering applications. Aliphatic polyurethanes were based on lysine ethyl ester diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate. Layer-by-layer construction of the scaffolds was performed by 3D Printing, that is, bonding together starch particles followed by infiltration and partial crosslinking of starch with lysine ethyl ester diisocyanate. Alternatively, the 3D Bioplotting process permitted three-dimensional dispensing and reactive processing of oligoetherurethanes derived from isophorone diisocyanate, oligoethylene oxide, and glycerol. The scaffolds were characterized with X-ray microtomography, scanning…