3D Bioplotter Research Papers
An advanced 3D monofilament biosuture
Sutures are one of the most widely used medical devices with employment in over 12 million procedures per year globally.1 Yet, the ideal suture material does not exist. Over the years scientists and surgeons alike have set out to find a suture material that is biocompatible, easy to handle, does not cause unnecessary tissue damage and creates an optimal environment for wound healing.2 This has led to the discovery of numerous suture materials ranging from silk and catgut in the early 1800s to synthetic polymers such as polylactic acid and polyglycolide that are currently in use.3 Sutures on the market…
Bacterial cellulose nanofibers promote stress and fidelity of 3D-printed silk based hydrogel scaffold with hierarchical pores
One of the latest trends in the regenerative medicine is the development of 3D-printing hydrogel scaffolds with biomimetic structures for tissue regeneration and organ reconstruction. However, it has been practically difficult to achieve a highly biomimetic hydrogel scaffolds with proper mechanical properties matching the natural tissue. Here, bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BCNFs) were applied to improve the structural resolution and enhance mechanical properties of silk fibroin (SF)/gelatin composite hydrogel scaffolds. The SF-based hydrogel scaffolds with hierarchical pores were fabricated via 3D-printing followed by lyophilization. Results showed that the tensile strength of printed sample increased significantly with the addition of BCNFs in…
Development of mechanistic models to identify critical formulation and process variables of pastes for 3D printing of modified release tablets
The future of pharmaceutical manufacturing may be significantly transformed by 3-dimensional (3D) printing. As an emerging technology, the indicators of quality for materials and processes used in 3D printing have not been fully established. The objective of this study was to identify the critical material attributes of semisolid paste formulations filled into cartridges for 3D printing of personalized medicine. Nineteen semisolid formulations were prepared per a fractional factorial design with three replicates of the center point. The variables investigated included percent loading of API and various soluble and insoluble excipients. Pastes were characterized for viscoelastic characteristics during the 3D printing…
Stable gelatin-based phantom materials with tunable x-ray attenuation properties and 3D printability for x-ray imaging
We report a novel method for developing gelatin-based phantom materials for transmission x-ray imaging with high stability at room temperature and tunable x-ray attenuation properties. This is achieved by efficiently cross-linking gelatin in a glycerin solution with only 10% water by volume and systematically decreasing their x-ray attenuation coefficients by doping with microbubbles that are originally designed to be used as lightweight additives for paints and crack fillers. For demonstration, we mimic breast glandular and adipose tissues by using such gelatin materials and also study the feasibility of 3D printing them based on the extrusion-based technique. Results from x-ray spectroscopy…