Biocompatible PVAc-g-PLLA Acrylate Polymers for DLP 3D Printing with Tunable Mechanical Properties

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Additive Manufacturing (AM) demands advanced multimaterials for customized devices.
• Photocurable resins for Digital Light Processing (DLP)/Stereolithography (SLA) need to meet requirements for both hard and soft/stretchable structures.
• Current AM materials often lack tunable mechanical properties and biocompatibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a biocompatible photocurable resin with tunable mechanical properties for 3D printing.
• To create materials that can transition from rigid to elastomeric in a graded manner.
• To explore applications in tissue engineering, soft robotics, and responsive materials.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of photocurable resins using acrylate poly(lactic acid) (PLA) grafted polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) with reactive diluents (HEMA, HEA).
• Tuning mechanical properties by varying the type and weight percentage of reactive diluents.
• Characterization of mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation), dye absorption, stimuli-responsive dye release (pH, enzyme), cell viability, and degradability.

Main Results:

• Tunable mechanical properties achieved, ranging from hard (20.6 ± 2 MPa tensile strength, 2 ± 1% elongation) to soft (1.1 ± 0.2 MPa tensile strength, 62 ± 8% elongation).
• High dye absorption (95%) with stimuli-responsive release (pH and enzyme).
• Demonstrated high cell viability (>90%) with mouse embryonic (WT-MEF) cells and degradability in PBS solution.

Conclusions:

• A novel biocompatible, biobased photocurable resin offers tunable mechanical properties for 3D printing.
• The material exhibits excellent dye absorption and release capabilities, along with good biocompatibility and degradability.
• Potential applications include tissue engineering scaffolds, soft robotics, and responsive actuators.