scholarly journals Photosynthesis-assisted remodeling of three-dimensional printed structures

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. e2016524118
Author(s):  
Kunhao Yu ◽  
Zhangzhengrong Feng ◽  
Haixu Du ◽  
An Xin ◽  
Kyung Hoon Lee ◽  
...  

The mechanical properties of engineering structures continuously weaken during service life because of material fatigue or degradation. By contrast, living organisms are able to strengthen their mechanical properties by regenerating parts of their structures. For example, plants strengthen their cell structures by transforming photosynthesis-produced glucose into stiff polysaccharides. In this work, we realize hybrid materials that use photosynthesis of embedded chloroplasts to remodel their microstructures. These materials can be used to three-dimensionally (3D)-print functional structures, which are endowed with matrix-strengthening and crack healing when exposed to white light. The mechanism relies on a 3D-printable polymer that allows for an additional cross-linking reaction with photosynthesis-produced glucose in the material bulk or on the interface. The remodeling behavior can be suspended by freezing chloroplasts, regulated by mechanical preloads, and reversed by environmental cues. This work opens the door for the design of hybrid synthetic-living materials, for applications such as smart composites, lightweight structures, and soft robotics.

Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Přemysl Menčík ◽  
Radek Přikryl ◽  
Ivana Stehnová ◽  
Veronika Melčová ◽  
Soňa Kontárová ◽  
...  

This paper explores the influence of selected commercial plasticizers structure, which are based on esters of citric acid, on mechanical and thermal properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(lactic acid)/Plasticizer biodegradable blends. These plasticizers were first tested with respect to their miscibility with Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(lactic acid) (PHB/PLA) blends using a kneading machine. PHB/PLA/plasticizer blends in the weight ratio (wt %) of 60/25/15 were then prepared by single screw and corotating meshing twin screw extruders in the form of filament for further three-dimensional (3D) printing. Mechanical, thermal properties, and shape stability (warping effect) of 3D printed products can be improved just by the addition of appropriate plasticizer to polymeric blend. The goal was to create new types of eco-friendly PHB/PLA/plasticizers blends and to highly improve the poor mechanical properties of neat PHB/PLA blends (with majority of PHB) by adding appropriate plasticizer. Mechanical properties of plasticized blends were then determined by the tensile test of 3D printed test samples (dogbones), as well as filaments. Measured elongation at break rapidly enhanced from 21% for neat non-plasticized PHB/PLA blends (reference) to 328% for best plasticized blends in the form of filament, and from 5% (reference) to 187% for plasticized blends in the form of printed dogbones. The plasticizing effect on blends was confirmed by Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The study of morphology was performed by the Scanning Electron Microscopy. Significant problem of plasticized blends used to be also plasticizer migration, therefore the diffusion of plasticizers from the blends after 15 days of exposition to 110 °C in the drying oven was investigated as their measured weight loss. Almost all of the used plasticizers showed meaningful positive softening effects, but the diffusion of plasticizers at 110 °C exposition was quite extensive. The determination of the degree of disintegration of selected plasticized blend when exposed to a laboratory-scale composting environment was executed to roughly check the “biodegradability”.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1203 (2) ◽  
pp. 022099
Author(s):  
Serhii Ivanov-Kostetskyi ◽  
Inna Gumennyk ◽  
Ivanna Voronkova

Abstract Contemporary innovative 3D technologies and machinery to apply them in the 21st century have been dynamically developing and cover increasingly more aspects in the area of architecture when making buildings and structures for various purposes. In the recent years, in various parts of the world much focus has been made on the kind of 3D technologies such as printing real-life architectural structures on printers using the method of phased production by the digital three-dimensional model designed in advance for the architectural project. The paper considers various technologies and technical means, their advantages and flaws, and analyzes key areas of applying 3D printers in the process of implementing various architectural structures. The prospects are identified for the development of the highly efficient technology to construct buildings and structures. The functioning principles of 3D printers are described. We covered the developments of construction and architectural organizations in making structures with the help of 3D print. Key challenges have been identified in the practical application of 3D print when building the architectural structures; the ways to improve the technology in the future are presented. The authors analyzed the available technological solutions for 3D print in the process of constructing real architectural structures; presented the relevant data on technical parameters of the contemporary three-dimensional printers; the problems for the development of the technology have been conceptualized, as well as the choice of optimal materials and engineering structures with regard for peculiarities of selected methods of layer-wise extrusion or making buildings parts with their further assembling into the final structure. The paper presents a summary of basic notions in the 3D print area, it mentions key software programs that could help implement all stages of the architectural structures making process when constructing them. The authors suggested a list of traditional construction materials to create architectural projects such as mineral heavy weight concrete with the polymer disperse fiber and chemical additives to regulate the terms for hardening astringency, and the promising other materials to produce buildings such as structural glass, various kinds of plastics, ceramic alloys (produced through selective laser sintering), and salt as a basic material to make complex restoration works in the reconstruction process. The outcome of the undertaken theoretical and applied research is presented by the authors in the findings concluding about key benefits from using 3D printers in creating real architectural facilities for various functions, and the choice of an optimal 3D print method on the specific brand of manufacturing machinery with the most efficient software. The authors identified the application areas of the most optimal, economically and structurally justified construction materials fitting the selected technology to build an architectural structure on a 3D printer. The approach can help create relatively inexpensive, aesthetically and functionally interesting architectural facilities for various purposes. In the process of their construction, they entail minimum costs in terms of labor and material resources. It offers broad perspectives to apply 3D printers in the world’s architectural practices.


BioResources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 3701-3716
Author(s):  
Xinhao Feng ◽  
Zhihui Wu ◽  
Yanjun Xie ◽  
Siqun Wang

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were modified with methyl methacrylate (MMA) to improve the properties of the resulting three-dimensional (3D) stereolithography printed CNC/methacrylate (MA) resin composites. The dispersibility of the MMA-modified CNCs (MMA-CNCs) was substantially improved, as evidenced by the limited precipitation in the MA solution. Thermal gravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry measurements showed that the pyrolytic temperature of the MMA-CNC was 110 °C higher than that of the CNCs; the pyrolytic temperature and glass transition temperature of the resulting MMA-CNC/MA composites were higher than those of the CNC/MA. The tensile strength and modulus of the MMA-CNC/MA composites were improved by up to 38.3 MPa and 3.07 GPa, respectively, compared to those of the CNC/MA composites. These results demonstrated that the modification of CNC with MMA is a feasible approach to substantially improve the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the resulting MA-based composites.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 3806
Author(s):  
Pablo Romero-Araya ◽  
Victor Pino ◽  
Ariel Nenen ◽  
Verena Cárdenas ◽  
Francisca Pavicic ◽  
...  

The design of scaffolds to reach similar three-dimensional structures mimicking the natural and fibrous environment of some cells is a challenge for tissue engineering, and 3D-printing and electrospinning highlights from other techniques in the production of scaffolds. The former is a well-known additive manufacturing technique devoted to the production of custom-made structures with mechanical properties similar to tissues and bones found in the human body, but lacks the resolution to produce small and interconnected structures. The latter is a well-studied technique to produce materials possessing a fibrillar structure, having the advantage of producing materials with tuned composition compared with a 3D-print. Taking the advantage that commercial 3D-printers work with polylactide (PLA) based filaments, a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, in this work we produce PLA-based composites by blending materials obtained by 3D-printing and electrospinning. Porous PLA fibers have been obtained by the electrospinning of recovered PLA from 3D-printer filaments, tuning the mechanical properties by blending PLA with small amounts of polyethylene glycol and hydroxyapatite. A composite has been obtained by blending two layers of 3D-printed pieces with a central mat of PLA fibers. The composite presented a reduced storage modulus as compared with a single 3D-print piece and possessing similar mechanical properties to bone tissues. Furthermore, the biocompatibility of the composites is assessed by a simulated body fluid assay and by culturing composites with 3T3 fibroblasts. We observed that all these composites induce the growing and attaching of fibroblast over the surface of a 3D-printed layer and in the fibrous layer, showing the potential of commercial 3D-printers and filaments to produce scaffolds to be used in bone tissue engineering.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 828-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihua Meng ◽  
Weihong Wu ◽  
Weiwei Zhang ◽  
Luyao Cheng ◽  
Yunhong Jiao ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 742 ◽  
pp. 395-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Staab ◽  
Frank Balle ◽  
Johannes Born

Multi-material-design offers high potential for weight saving and optimization of engineering structures but inherits challenges as well, especially robust joining methods and long-term properties of hybrid structures. The application of joining techniques like ultrasonic welding allows a very efficient design of multi-material-components to enable further use of material specific advantages and are superior concerning mechanical properties.The Institute of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Kaiserslautern (WKK) has a long-time experience on ultrasonic welding of dissimilar materials, for example different kinds of CFRP, light metals, steels or even glasses and ceramics. The mechanical properties are mostly optimized by using ideal process parameters, determined through statistical test planning methods.This gained knowledge is now to be transferred to application in aviation industry in cooperation with CTC GmbH and Airbus Operations GmbH. Therefore aircraft-related materials are joined by ultrasonic welding. The applied process parameters are recorded and analyzed in detail to be interlinked with the resulting mechanical properties of the hybrid joints. Aircraft derived multi-material demonstrators will be designed, manufactured and characterized with respect to their monotonic and fatigue properties as well as their resistance to aging.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 3391
Author(s):  
Sylwia Grabska-Zielińska ◽  
Alina Sionkowska ◽  
Ewa Olewnik-Kruszkowska ◽  
Katarzyna Reczyńska ◽  
Elżbieta Pamuła

The aim of this work was to compare physicochemical properties of three dimensional scaffolds based on silk fibroin, collagen and chitosan blends, cross-linked with dialdehyde starch (DAS) and dialdehyde chitosan (DAC). DAS was commercially available, while DAC was obtained by one-step synthesis. Structure and physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized using Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance device (FTIR-ATR), swelling behavior and water content measurements, porosity and density observations, scanning electron microscopy imaging (SEM), mechanical properties evaluation and thermogravimetric analysis. Metabolic activity with AlamarBlue assay and live/dead fluorescence staining were performed to evaluate the cytocompatibility of the obtained materials with MG-63 osteoblast-like cells. The results showed that the properties of the scaffolds based on silk fibroin, collagen and chitosan can be modified by chemical cross-linking with DAS and DAC. It was found that DAS and DAC have different influence on the properties of biopolymeric scaffolds. Materials cross-linked with DAS were characterized by higher swelling ability (~4000% for DAS cross-linked materials; ~2500% for DAC cross-linked materials), they had lower density (Coll/CTS/30SF scaffold cross-linked with DAS: 21.8 ± 2.4 g/cm3; cross-linked with DAC: 14.6 ± 0.7 g/cm3) and lower mechanical properties (maximum deformation for DAC cross-linked scaffolds was about 69%; for DAS cross-linked scaffolds it was in the range of 12.67 ± 1.51% and 19.83 ± 1.30%) in comparison to materials cross-linked with DAC. Additionally, scaffolds cross-linked with DAS exhibited higher biocompatibility than those cross-linked with DAC. However, the obtained results showed that both types of scaffolds can provide the support required in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The scaffolds presented in the present work can be potentially used in bone tissue engineering to facilitate healing of small bone defects.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2239
Author(s):  
Nicholas Rodriguez ◽  
Samantha Ruelas ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Forien ◽  
Nikola Dudukovic ◽  
Josh DeOtte ◽  
...  

Recent advances in additive manufacturing, specifically direct ink writing (DIW) and ink-jetting, have enabled the production of elastomeric silicone parts with deterministic control over the structure, shape, and mechanical properties. These new technologies offer rapid prototyping advantages and find applications in various fields, including biomedical devices, prosthetics, metamaterials, and soft robotics. Stereolithography (SLA) is a complementary approach with the ability to print with finer features and potentially higher throughput. However, all high-performance silicone elastomers are composites of polysiloxane networks reinforced with particulate filler, and consequently, silicone resins tend to have high viscosities (gel- or paste-like), which complicates or completely inhibits the layer-by-layer recoating process central to most SLA technologies. Herein, the design and build of a digital light projection SLA printer suitable for handling high-viscosity resins is demonstrated. Further, a series of UV-curable silicone resins with thiol-ene crosslinking and reinforced by a combination of fumed silica and MQ resins are also described. The resulting silicone elastomers are shown to have tunable mechanical properties, with 100–350% elongation and ultimate tensile strength from 1 to 2.5 MPa. Three-dimensional printed features of 0.4 mm were achieved, and complexity is demonstrated by octet-truss lattices that display negative stiffness.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1217
Author(s):  
Jang Ho Ha ◽  
Jae Hyun Lim ◽  
Ji Woon Kim ◽  
Hyeon-Yeol Cho ◽  
Seok Geun Jo ◽  
...  

Blended hydrogels play an important role in enhancing the properties (e.g., mechanical properties and conductivity) of hydrogels. In this study, we generated a conductive blended hydrogel, which was achieved by mixing gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) with collagen, and silver nanowire (AgNW). The ratio of GelMA, collagen and AgNW was optimized and was subsequently gelated by ultraviolet light (UV) and heat. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the conductive blended hydrogels showed that collagen and AgNW were present in the GelMA hydrogel. Additionally, rheological analysis indicated that the mechanical properties of the conductive GelMA–collagen–AgNW blended hydrogels improved. Biocompatibility analysis confirmed that the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) encapsulated within the three-dimensional (3D), conductive blended hydrogels were highly viable. Furthermore, we confirmed that the molecule in the conductive blended hydrogel was released by electrical stimuli-mediated structural deformation. Therefore, this conductive GelMA–collagen–AgNW blended hydrogel could be potentially used as a smart actuator for drug delivery applications.


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