Design tools for patient specific and highly controlled melt electrowritten scaffolds

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Melt electrowriting (MEW) is a popular biofabrication technique for creating high-precision fiber networks.
• These fibers mimic the extracellular matrix, enabling applications in tissue analogues and drug screening.
• Current MEW methods use flat plates or rotating mandrels for construct fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address limitations in MEW control for additive manufacturing.
• To develop customized software for precise geometric control in MEW scaffold fabrication.
• To explore the potential for tailoring mechanical and biological properties of MEW scaffolds.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a continuous polymer flow characteristic of MEW, unsuitable for conventional g-code.
• Developed a suite of customized pattern generation software tools.
• Fabricated scaffolds with controlled geometries including crosshatch, gradient porosity, tubular, and patient-specific designs.

Main Results:

• Achieved highly controlled geometry in MEW-fabricated scaffolds.
• Demonstrated the ability to produce scaffolds with adaptable mechanical properties.
• Showcased the potential to influence biological properties like cell attachment and proliferation.

Conclusions:

• Customized software overcomes MEW's continuous flow limitation for precise additive manufacturing.
• MEW, with advanced software control, offers versatile fabrication of scaffolds with tunable properties.
• This approach advances biofabrication for tissue engineering and personalized medicine applications.