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Printing Thermoresponsive Reverse Molds for the Creation of Patterned Two-component Hydrogels for 3D Cell Culture

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3D Printing Method for Tough Multifunctional Particle-Based Double-Network Hydrogels.

Donghao Zhao¹, Yide Liu¹, Binhong Liu¹

¹State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power & Mechatronic System, Key Laboratory of Soft Machines and Smart Devices of Zhejiang Province, Center for X-Mechanics, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

|March 15, 2021

Summary

Researchers developed novel 3D printable hydrogel inks for strong, tough particle-based double-network (P-DN) hydrogels. This advance simplifies fabricating complex structures for tissue engineering and soft robotics.

Keywords:

3D printing adhesion double network mechanical properties microgel multifunctional hydrogel

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Fabricating Degradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels on Multiple Length Scales via Reactive Extrusion, Microfluidics, Self-assembly, and Electrospinning

Published on: April 16, 2018

Area of Science:

Biomaterials Science
Polymer Chemistry
Additive Manufacturing

Background:

Hydrogels are crucial in biomedicine and engineering for applications like artificial organs and tissue regeneration.
High mechanical performance is essential for these applications, but current tough hydrogels often have complex synthesis hindering 3D printing.
Existing methods face challenges in creating complex, mechanically robust hydrogel structures via 3D printing.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a simplified strategy for 3D printing strong and tough hydrogel structures.
To create novel hydrogel inks enabling the fabrication of particle-based double-network (P-DN) hydrogels with arbitrary shapes.
To overcome limitations of complex synthesis processes in producing high-performance hydrogels for advanced applications.

Main Methods:

Formulation of hydrogel inks comprising microgels and a hydrogel precursor.
Preparation of microgels by swelling dried microparticles in a precursor solution (monomers, initiators, cross-linkers).
Direct 3D printing of the formulated inks followed by in-situ curing to form particle-based double-network (P-DN) hydrogels.

Main Results:

The microgels within the ink effectively regulated rheological properties, enabling direct 3D printing without rheological modifiers.
The curing process integrated the microgels into a sparsely cross-linked network, forming robust P-DN hydrogels.
The resulting hydrogel structures exhibited high mechanical performance and strong adhesion to various materials.

Conclusions:

A novel strategy for formulating printable hydrogel inks based on microgels and precursors was successfully demonstrated.
This approach simplifies the fabrication of strong, tough, and complex P-DN hydrogel structures via 3D printing.
The developed technology offers significant potential for creating advanced multifunctional devices in tissue engineering and soft robotics.