Printing 3D Hydrogel Structures Employing Low-Cost Stereolithography Technology

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• 3D Printing Technology

Background:

• Stereolithography (SLA) is widely used with photocrosslinkable hydrogels for 3D microfabrication.
• This technique enables the creation of complex models for tissue engineering.
• Existing methods can be costly and complex.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple, fast, and low-cost home-made stereolithography system.
• To print layer-by-layer 3D structures using biocompatible hydrogels.
• To assess the potential of this system for tissue engineering applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels.
• Employed a commercial projector-based stereolithography setup for low-cost fabrication.
• Used Lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl phosphonate (LAP) as a photoinitiator with a 404 nm laser source.

Main Results:

• Successfully printed 3D constructions with resolutions between 42 and 83 µm.
• Achieved vascularized structures with more than 5 layers.
• Demonstrated the low cost and efficiency of the developed stereolithography technique.

Conclusions:

• The developed low-cost stereolithography system is a viable tool for tissue engineering.
• This technique can be used as an alternative for bioprinting miniaturized models.
• Potential applications include simulating physiological functions and drug efficacy analysis.