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4D Printing Shape-Morphing Hybrid Biomaterials for Advanced Bioengineering Applications.
Irene Chiesa1, Maria Rachele Ceccarini2, Silvia Bittolo Bon3
1Department of Ingegneria dell'Informazione and Research Center E. Piaggio, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 28, 2023
Summary
Four-dimensional (4D) printing creates programmable structures that change shape with environmental stimuli. This technology offers advanced, dynamically actuated implantable devices for biomedical applications.
Area of Science:
- Additive Manufacturing
- Biomaterials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Four-dimensional (4D) printing enables the creation of structures that dynamically change over time in response to environmental stimuli.
- These 4D printed objects are programmable active structures, exhibiting shape-shifting capabilities due to alterations in their physical/chemical properties.
- Successful 4D printing requires careful coupling of material properties, structure geometry, and stimulus conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the potential of 4D printing as a manufacturing technology for biomedical devices.
- To highlight how 4D printing can encode environmentally triggered physical evolution in structures.
- To demonstrate the development of advanced materials through the integration of micro-/nanofabrication with nanomaterials.
Main Methods:
- Integration of micro-/nanofabrication techniques with biomaterials and nanomaterials.
- Fabrication of complex, multifunctional, and triggerable structures.
- Utilizing external stimuli to activate programmed physical evolution.
Main Results:
- Development of advanced materials with tunable properties.
- Creation of dynamically actuated implantable devices.
- Potential for reduced need for invasive biomedical interventions.
Conclusions:
- 4D printing is a promising manufacturing technology for creating adaptive biomedical devices.
- The ability to program shape evolution offers new tools for biomedical engineers and clinicians.
- This technology facilitates the design of next-generation implantable devices with controlled, environmentally responsive functions.
