3D Bioplotter Research Papers

Programmable materials are desirable for a variety of functional applications that range from biomedical devices, actuators and soft robots to adaptive surfaces and deployable structures. However, current smart materials are often designed to respond to single stimuli (like temperature, humidity, or light). Here, a novel multi-stimuli-responsive composite is fabricated using direct ink writing (DIW) to enable programmability in both space and time and computation of logic operations. The composite hydrogels consist of double-network matrices of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) or poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and sodium alginate (SA) and are reinforced by a high content of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) (14 wt%) and nanofibers…

Scaffolds are key components in bone tissue engineering (BTE) since they provide sites for cells to function and mechanical support to resist external forces while they are degraded and remodeled over time with the regeneration of bone tissue. A wide range of investigations have been performed on scaffolds printed from polycaprolactone/hydroxyapatite (PCL/HAp) due to the synergistic properties of PCL and HAp for BTE. Notably, conflicting reports on the development (design and printing) of scaffold structures for desired performance, in terms of mechanical properties and cellular activities in PCL/HAp scaffolds, make conclusions on best practices elusive. This raises a great need…

Integration of small-footprint cost-effective isothermal rapid DNA extraction, amplification, and detection systems is crucial to achieving a point-of-care pathogen detection system suitable for resource-limited locations. The herein system measures low-level fluorescent signals in real-time during nucleic acid amplification, while maintaining the desired assay temperature on a low-power, portable footprint. A thermally stable microfluidic device was implemented to mitigate thermocapillary effects and facilitate optical alignment for automated image capture and signal analysis. The system uses Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification with primers sensitive to broad strains and lineages of SARS-CoV-2 with viral loads corresponding to cycle thresholds from 16 to 39. Among the…

Articular cartilage is a type of hyaline cartilage and it is crucial for joint movements, but aging or injury can cause changes that result in pain and disability. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major joint disease resulting from advanced cartilage degeneration. Current surgical treatments do not allow for regenerating cartilage similar to native hyaline cartilage. Cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) is a potential therapeutic approach where engineered constructs are deployed into damaged cartilage of the joint to stimulate the production of hyaline cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM). To this end, hydrogels have been widely studied and examined due to their ability to provide…

Implantable drug delivery devices offer many benefits over other routes of drug delivery. Most significantly, the potential of reducing systematic side-effects and improving patient compliance as drugs are delivered in lesser doses over an extended period. The present work was focused on designing a novel polymeric blend through a judicious combination of polymers. Polymeric material was used for the fabrication of implantable drug delivery devices (IDDDs) with varying geometrical considerations viz. torus and cylinder for the controlled delivery of a model antithrombotic agent, rivaroxaban (RXB). RXB is an antithrombotic drug used primarily for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism…

Hydrogel-based scaffolds have been widely used in soft tissue regeneration due to their biocompatible and tissue-like environment for maintaining cellular functions and tissue regeneration. Understanding the mechanical properties and internal microstructure of hydrogel-based scaffold, once implanted, is imperative in many tissue engineering applications and longitude studies. Notably, this has been challenging to date as various conventional characterization methods by, for example, mechanical testing (for mechanical properties) and microscope (for internal microstructure) are destructive as they require removing scaffolds from the implantation site and processing samples for characterization. Synchrotron propagation-based imaging – computed tomography (PBI-CT) is feasible and promising for non-destructive…

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has emerged as a promising tool for fabricating scaffolds with highly accurate detailing and complex geometry of the net structures for tissue-engineered products. This study developed polylactic acid (PLA)-based composites by introducing graphene modified with alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) for multifunctional materials with a controllable structure by extrusion-based 3D bio-printing. Multilayer graphene was successfully synthesized by electrolytic exfoliation technique in poly (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) electrolyte solutions. The structures, morphology, and size of the synthesized GP were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The results…

“There is an immense need for corneal transplants to restore vision after injury or disease. Due to the shortage of donor corneas, three dimensional (3D) bioprinting has emerged as a possible solution to create cornea mimicking structures. The cornea consists of five layers, with the stroma and epithelium forming the two outermost cellular layers. To be able to 3D bioprint these layers, bioinks, and appropriate cell types are needed. For the epithelial layer, human pluripotent stem cell -derived corneal limbal epithelial stem cells (hPSC-LSCs) have great potential. For the stromal layer, human adipose stem cells -derived corneal stromal keratocytes (hASC-CSKs)…

“This thesis studies the production of dental prosthetic structures from zirconia through the 3D printing method. In the theoretical part, ceramic materials are described, and the properties of zirconia are analyzed both in general and in the field of dentistry. Zirconia is a ceramic with strong mechanical strength and has been suitable for applications in this field in recent years. In addition, in the theoretical part, 3D printing techniques are developed, especially Inkjet printing (IJP) and Direct ink writing (DIW- robocasting). 3D printing techniques have wide application in manufacturing complex shapes and geometries where conventional production methods do not respond…

Cultured meat is the solution to reduce resources used in traditional meat production. It helps produce meat without killing livestock and decrease unnecessary residue. This process requires three-dimensional scaffold for the cell attachment and the formation of artificial meat including natural textures. To achieve the goal of cultured meat, the scaffold material should not be derived from animal products as well. Therefore, this study aims to investigate mechanical properties, rheology, biocompatibility and cell attachment of 2% w/v alginate, 0.8% w/v agarose and 1.5% w/v carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogel. The structures of hydrogel were printed, and the suitable printing conditions were examined.…