3D Bioplotter Research Papers

The emergence of four-dimensional (4D) printing in additive manufacturing (AM), which requires knowledge in multi-physics, chemistry, and engineering skills, is bringing many applications in biomedical, robotics, aerospace, and food industries. The increased usage of AM technology and smart materials in industry means that companies are seeking to develop and manage production system for academics with the multidisciplinary abilities and knowledge. This enables a high interdisciplinary platform for research and project modules suitable to be used in the academic environment for hands-on students training. This paper proposed an easy to implement and follow 4D bio/printing module well designed for students and…

In bone tissue engineering, 3D printing technology represents a promising means to obtain complex architectures with the possibility to control precisely the pore size.Diopside (CaMgSi2O6) is a biomaterial which has the ability to induce in vitro apatite formation and in vivo growth and differentiation of the osteoblast. CaMgSi2O6 is a biocompatible material that possesses good bending strength and fracture toughness, bioactivity and slow degradation rate. Due to its outstanding properties diopside has tremendous potential in medical applications.

Additive manufacturing is becoming an increasingly attractive method for the fabrication of devices in both industry applications and materials science research. Comparatively, conventional synthesis methods are often more time-intensive and provide geometric constraints. This is true for the fabrication of thermoelectric devices, where additive manufacturing is being further explored to improve cost and design flexibility. Currently, little work has been conducted on the direct effects between additive manufacturing fabrication methods and if or how thermoelectric transport properties are altered from these methods. This work focuses on the process development of constructing bulk Ni samples via particle-based ink extrusion printing, where…

The excellent rheological property has legitimated the suitability of starch hydrogel for extrusion-based 3D printing. However, the inability to promote cell attachment and migration has precluded the non-modified starch hydrogel from direct applications in the biomedical field. Herein, a novel 3D printable nanocomposite starch hydrogel is developed with highly enhanced biocompatibility for promoting 3D cell growth, by formulating with gelatin nanoparticles and collagen. The rheological evaluation reveals the shear-thinning and thixotropic properties of the starch-based hydrogel, as well as the combinatorial effect of collagen and gelatin nanoparticles on maintaining printability and 3D shape fidelity. The homogeneous microporous structure with abundant…

Extrusion-based bioprinting is an emerging and most frequently used technique for the fabrication of cell-laden constructs. A suitable hydrogel-based bioink for cell encapsulation and protection is critical for printability, structural stability, and post-printing cell viability. The thiol–ene chemistry-based gelatin-norbornene (GelNB) hydrogels have drawn much attention as a promising substitution of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA), owing to the fast and controllable step-growth polymerization mechanism, as well as a significant reduction in reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Herein, thiolated heparin (HepSH) was synthesized and used as a macromolecular crosslinker for GelNB-based bioprinting, so that GelNB gelation became less sensitive to the thiol/ene ratio.…

Intensively studied 3D printing technology is frequently hindered by the effective printable ink preparation method. Herein, we propose an elegant and gentle solvent consumption strategy to slowly disrupt the thermodynamic stability of the biopolymer (polysaccharide: cellulose, chitin, and chitosan) solution to slightly induce the molecule chains to in situ self-assemble into nanostructures for regulating the rheological properties, eventually achieving the acceptable printability. The polysaccharides are dissolved in the alkali/urea solvent. The weak Lewis acid fumed silica (as solvent mediator) is used to (i) slowly and partially consume the alkali/urea solvent to induce the polysaccharide chains to self-assemble into nanofibers to…

Repair of large bone defects represents a major challenge for orthopedic surgeons. The newly formed microvessels inside grafts play a crucial role in successful bone tissue engineering. Previously, an active role for mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes in blood vessel development and progression was suggested in the repair of multiple tissues. However, the reports on the application of MSC-derived exosomes in the repair of large bone defects are sparse. In this study, we encapsulated umbilical MSC-derived exosomes (uMSCEXOs) in hyaluronic acid hydrogel (HA-Gel) and combined them with customized nanohydroxyapatite/poly-ε-caprolactone (nHP) scaffolds to repair cranial defects in rats. Imaging and histological…

Complex-shaped, finely-featured, ultra-high-melting ZrC/W composite structures were produced by coupling, for the first time, three-dimensional (3D) ink-extrusion printing with shape/size-preserving reactive melt infiltration (the Displacive Compensation of Porosity, DCP, process). Inks containing sub-micron WC powders were printed at ambient temperature into either fine-scale structures (sub-millimeter filaments) or into a larger-scale, finely-featured 3D structure (a centimeter-scale nozzle with a sub-millimeter-thick wall). After organic binder removal, the printed structures were sintered at 1650 °C for 1 h to achieve a porosity of 50%. The porous, rigid WC structures then underwent ambient pressure infiltration and reaction with Zr-Cu liquid at up to 1350…

Massive oral and maxillofacial bone defect regeneration remains a major clinical challenge due to the absence of functionalized bone grafts with ideal mechanical and proregeneration properties. In the present study, Laponite (LAP), a synthetic nanosilicate, is incorporated into polycaprolactone (PCL) to develop a biomaterial for bone regeneration. It is explored whether LAP-embedded PCL would accelerate bone regeneration by orchestrating osteoblasts to directly and indirectly induce bone regeneration processes. The results confirmed the presence of LAP in PCL, and LAP is distributed in the exfoliated structure without aggregates. Incorporation of LAP in PCL slightly improved the compressive properties. LAP-embedded PCL is…

This article reports tunable crosslinking, reversible phase transition, and three-dimensional printing (3DP) of hyaluronic acid (HyA) hydrogels via dynamic coordination of Fe3+ ions with their innate carboxyl groups for the first time. The concentrations of Fe3+ and H+ ions and the reaction time determine the tunable ratios of mono-, bi-, and tridentate coordination, leading to the low-to-high crosslinking densities and reversible solid–liquid phase transition of HyA hydrogels. At the monodentate-dominant coordination, the liquid hydrogels have low crosslinking densities (HyA_L). At the mixed coordination of mono-, bi-, and tridentate bonding, the solid hydrogels have medium crosslinking densities (HyA_M). At the tridentate-dominant…