Melt electrowriting of a photo-crosslinkable poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-based material into tubular constructs with predefined architecture and tunable mechanical properties

Autor: Nele Pien, Michael Bartolf‐Kopp, Laurens Parmentier, Jasper Delaey, Lobke De Vos, Diego Mantovani, Sandra Van Vlierberghe, Peter Dubruel, Tomasz Jungst
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING
ISSN: 1438-7492
1439-2054
Popis: Melt electrowriting (MEW) is an additive manufacturing process that produces highly defined constructs with elements in the micrometer range. A specific configuration of MEW enables printing tubular constructs to create small-diameter tubular structures. The small pool of processable materials poses a bottleneck for wider application in biomedicine. To alleviate this obstacle, an acrylate-endcapped urethane-based polymer (AUP), using a poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) (molar mass: 20 000 g mol(-1)) (AUP PCL20k) as backbone material, is synthesized and utilized for MEW. Spectroscopic analysis confirms the successful modification of the PCL backbone with photo-crosslinkable acrylate endgroups. Printing experiments of AUP PCL20k reveal limited printability but the photo-crosslinking ability is preserved post-printing. To improve printability and to tune the mechanical properties of printed constructs, the AUP-material is blended with commercially available PCL (AUP PCL20k:PCL in ratios 80:20, 60:40, 50:50). Print fidelity improves for 60:40 and 50:50 blends. Blending enables modification of the constructs' mechanical properties to approximate the range of blood vessels for transplantation surgeries. The crosslinking-ability of the material allows pure AUP to be manipulated post-printing and illustrates significant differences in mechanical properties of 80:20 blends after crosslinking. An in vitro cell compatibility assay using human umbilical vein endothelial cells also demonstrates the material's non-cytotoxicity.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: