Gradient Multinozzle 3D Printing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biotechnology
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Direct ink writing (DIW) offers material versatility but faces bottlenecks in ink formulation.
• Developing new inks requires extensive mixing, printing, and testing, slowing innovation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce gradient embedded multinozzle (GEM) printheads to accelerate ink-space exploration in DIW.
• To enable high-throughput parallelized printing with combinatorial ink mixing.

Main Methods:

• Developed GEM printheads for simultaneous mixing of two-, three-, and four-input inks.
• Utilized GEM printheads to create 3D structures with graded ink compositions.
• Validated cell compatibility and optimized hydrogel properties for specific applications.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated cell compatibility using a two-way GEM printhead with fibroblast-laden scaffolds.
• Optimized ten compositions of poly(ethylene-glycol) diacrylate hydrogel tri-leaflet valves using a three-way GEM printhead.
• Achieved optimization for stiffness, swelling ratio, and toughness in printed valves.

Conclusions:

• GEM printheads significantly accelerate iterative ink design and testing for 3D printing.
• The technology is compatible with open-source printers and various extrusion systems.
• This innovation promises to broaden the scope of achievable materials and applications in additive manufacturing.