scholarly journals Extrusion-Based 3D Printing for Highly Porous Alginate Materials Production

Gels ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Natalia Menshutina ◽  
Andrey Abramov ◽  
Pavel Tsygankov ◽  
Daria Lovskaya

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a promising technology for solving a wide range of problems: regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, chemistry, etc. One of the potential applications of additive technologies is the production of highly porous structures with complex geometries, while printing is carried out using gel-like materials. However, the implementation of precise gel printing is a difficult task due to the high requirements for “ink”. In this paper, we propose the use of gel-like materials based on sodium alginate as “ink” for the implementation of the developed technology of extrusion-based 3D printing. Rheological studies were carried out for the developed alginate ink compositions. The optimal rheological properties are gel-like materials based on 2 wt% sodium alginate and 0.2 wt% calcium chloride. The 3D-printed structures with complex geometry were successfully dried using supercritical drying. The resulting aerogels have a high specific surface area (from 350 to 422 m2/g) and a high pore volume (from 3 to 3.78 cm3/g).

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhinakaran Veeman ◽  
M. Swapna Sai ◽  
P. Sureshkumar ◽  
T. Jagadeesha ◽  
L. Natrayan ◽  
...  

As a technique of producing fabric engineering scaffolds, three-dimensional (3D) printing has tremendous possibilities. 3D printing applications are restricted to a wide range of biomaterials in the field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Due to their biocompatibility, bioactiveness, and biodegradability, biopolymers such as collagen, alginate, silk fibroin, chitosan, alginate, cellulose, and starch are used in a variety of fields, including the food, biomedical, regeneration, agriculture, packaging, and pharmaceutical industries. The benefits of producing 3D-printed scaffolds are many, including the capacity to produce complicated geometries, porosity, and multicell coculture and to take growth factors into account. In particular, the additional production of biopolymers offers new options to produce 3D structures and materials with specialised patterns and properties. In the realm of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM), important progress has been accomplished; now, several state-of-the-art techniques are used to produce porous scaffolds for organ or tissue regeneration to be suited for tissue technology. Natural biopolymeric materials are often better suited for designing and manufacturing healing equipment than temporary implants and tissue regeneration materials owing to its appropriate properties and biocompatibility. The review focuses on the additive manufacturing of biopolymers with significant changes, advancements, trends, and developments in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering with potential applications.


Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunxia Wang ◽  
Yong Zhang ◽  
Zheng Qiao ◽  
Wanjun Wang

Homogeneous mixing of microscopic volume fluids at low Reynolds number is of great significance for a wide range of chemical, biological, and medical applications. An efficient jet mixer with arrays of micronozzles was designed and fabricated using additive manufacturing (three-dimensional (3D) printing) technology for applications in centrifugal microfluidic platforms. The contact surface of miscible liquids was enhanced significantly by impinging plumes from two opposite arrays of micronozzles to improve mixing performance. The mixing efficiency was evaluated and compared with the commonly used Y-shaped micromixer. Effective mixing in the jet mixer was achieved within a very short timescale (3s). This 3D printed jet mixer has great potential to be implemented in applications by being incorporated into multifarious 3D printing devices in microfluidic platforms.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoming Li ◽  
Rongrong Cui ◽  
Lianwen Sun ◽  
Katerina E. Aifantis ◽  
Yubo Fan ◽  
...  

3D printing technology has recently gained substantial interest for potential applications in tissue engineering due to the ability of making a three-dimensional object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D-printed biopolymers, which combine the 3D printing technology and biopolymers, have shown great potential in tissue engineering applications and are receiving significant attention, which has resulted in the development of numerous research programs regarding the material systems which are available for 3D printing. This review focuses on recent advances in the development of biopolymer materials, including natural biopolymer-based materials and synthetic biopolymer-based materials prepared using 3D printing technology, and some future challenges and applications of this technology are discussed.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adja B. R. Touré ◽  
Elisa Mele ◽  
Jamieson K. Christie

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has been combined with electrospinning to manufacture multi-layered polymer/glass scaffolds that possess multi-scale porosity, are mechanically robust, release bioactive compounds, degrade at a controlled rate and are biocompatible. Fibrous mats of poly (caprolactone) (PCL) and poly (glycerol sebacate) (PGS) have been directly electrospun on one side of 3D-printed grids of PCL-PGS blends containing bioactive glasses (BGs). The excellent adhesion between layers has resulted in composite scaffolds with a Young’s modulus of 240–310 MPa, higher than that of 3D-printed grids (125–280 MPa, without the electrospun layer). The scaffolds degraded in vitro by releasing PGS and BGs, reaching a weight loss of ~14% after 56 days of incubation. Although the hydrolysis of PGS resulted in the acidification of the buffer medium (to a pH of 5.3–5.4), the release of alkaline ions from the BGs balanced that out and brought the pH back to 6.0. Cytotoxicity tests performed on fibroblasts showed that the PCL-PGS-BGs constructs were biocompatible, with cell viability of above 125% at day 2. This study demonstrates the fabrication of systems with engineered properties by the synergy of diverse technologies and materials (organic and inorganic) for potential applications in tendon and ligament tissue engineering.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian L. Treviño ◽  
Joseph D. Galloway ◽  
Pranav A. Bhounsule

In this paper, we present the redesign and analysis of a century old walking toy. Historically, the toy is made up of two wooden pieces including a rear leg and a front leg and body (as a single piece) that are attached to each other by means of a pin joint. When the toy is placed on a ramp and given a slight perturbation, it ambles downhill powered only by gravity. Before the toy can walk successfully, it needs careful tuning of its geometry and mass distribution. The traditional technique of manual wood carving offers very limited flexibility to tune the mass distribution and geometry. We have re-engineered the toy to be three-dimensional (3D) printed as a single integrated assembly that includes a pin joint and the two legs. After 3D printing, we have to manually break-off the weakly held support material to allow movement of the pin joint. It took us 6 iterations to progressively tune the leg geometry, mass distribution, and hinge joint tolerances to create our most successful working prototype. The final 3D printed toy needs minimal postprocessing and walks reliably on a 7.87 deg downhill ramp. Next, we created a computer model of the toy to explain its motion and stability. Parameter studies reveal that the toy exhibits stable walking motion for a fairly wide range of mass distributions. Although 3D printing has been used to create nonassembly articulated kinematic mechanisms, this is the first study that shows that it is possible to create dynamics-based nonassembly mechanisms such as walking toys.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1313-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataraj Poomathi ◽  
Sunpreet Singh ◽  
Chander Prakash ◽  
Arjun Subramanian ◽  
Rahul Sahay ◽  
...  

Purpose In the past decade, three-dimensional (3D) printing has gained attention in areas such as medicine, engineering, manufacturing art and most recently in education. In biomedical, the development of a wide range of biomaterials has catalysed the considerable role of 3D printing (3DP), where it functions as synthetic frameworks in the form of scaffolds, constructs or matrices. The purpose of this paper is to present the state-of-the-art literature coverage of 3DP applications in tissue engineering (such as customized scaffoldings and organs, and regenerative medicine). Design/methodology/approach This review focusses on various 3DP techniques and biomaterials for tissue engineering (TE) applications. The literature reviewed in the manuscript has been collected from various journal search engines including Google Scholar, Research Gate, Academia, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. The keywords that have been selected for the searches were 3 D printing, tissue engineering, scaffoldings, organs, regenerative medicine, biomaterials, standards, applications and future directions. Further, the sub-classifications of the keyword, wherever possible, have been used as sectioned/sub-sectioned in the manuscript. Findings 3DP techniques have many applications in biomedical and TE (B-TE), as covered in the literature. Customized structures for B-TE applications are easy and cost-effective to manufacture through 3DP, whereas on many occasions, conventional technologies generally become incompatible. For this, this new class of manufacturing must be explored to further capabilities for many potential applications. Originality/value This review paper presents a comprehensive study of the various types of 3DP technologies in the light of their possible B-TE application as well as provides a future roadmap.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1783-1788
Author(s):  
Asif Ur Rehman ◽  
Vincenzo M. Sglavo

Purpose Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology allows geometric complexity and customization with a significant reduction in the structural environmental impact. Nevertheless, it poses a serious threat to the environment when organic binders are used. Binder jet printing of alkali-activated geopolymer precursor can represent a successful and environmental-friendly alternative. Design/methodology/approach The present work reports about the successful 3D printing of metakaolin-based alkali-activated concrete, with dimensional integrity and valuable mechanical behavior. Findings The geometric behavior was studied as a function of alkali activator flow rate, and the minimum geometric deviation with complete saturation was recorded at 103 mg/s. The printed specimen is characterized by a modulus of rupture as high as 4.4 MPa at 135 mg/s. Practical implications The 3D printed geopolymer-based concrete can be potentially used in a wide range of structural applications from construction to thermal insulation elements. Originality/value The analysis of the 3D geopolymer-based concrete printing system and material conducted in this paper is original.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 3176
Author(s):  
Manyu Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyong Tian ◽  
Dichen Li

To fully exploit the preponderance of three-dimensional (3D)-printed, continuous, fiber-reinforced, thermoplastic composites (CFRTPCs) and self-reinforced composites (which exhibit excellent interfacial affinity and are fully recyclable), an approach in which continuous fiber self-reinforced composites (CFSRCs) can be fabricated by 3D printing is proposed. The influence of 3D-printing temperature on the mechanical performance of 3D-printed CFSRCs based on homogeneous, continuous, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) filament, utilized as a reinforcing phase and matrix, respectively, was studied. Experimental results showed a qualitative relationship between the printing temperature and the mechanical properties. The ultimate tensile strength, as well as Young’s modulus, were 300.2 MPa and 8.2 GPa, respectively. Furthermore, transcrystallization that occurred in the process of 3D printing resulted in an interface between fibers and the matrix. Finally, the recyclability of 3D-printed CFSRCs has also been demonstrated in this research for potential applications of green composites.


Sensor Review ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bogue

Purpose This study aims to provide a technical insight into sensors fabricated by three-dimensional (3D) printing methods. Design/methodology/approach Following an introduction to 3D printing, this article first discusses printed sensors for strain and allied variables, based on a diverse range of principles and materials. It then considers ultrasonic and acoustic sensor developments and provides details of a sensor based on 3D printed electronic components for monitoring food quality in real-time. Finally, brief concluding comments are drawn. Findings Several variants of the 3D printing technique have been used in the fabrication of a range of sensors based on many different operating principles. These exhibit good performance and sometimes unique characteristics. A key benefit is the ability to overcome the limitations of conventional manufacturing techniques by creating complex shapes from a wide range of sensing materials. Originality/value 3D printing is a new and potentially important sensor fabrication technology, and this article provides details of a range of recently reported developments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Nectarios Vidakis ◽  
Markos Petousis ◽  
Emmanuel Velidakis ◽  
Nikolaos Mountakis ◽  
Peder Erik Fischer-Griffiths ◽  
...  

Conductive Polymer Composites (CPCs) have recently gained an extensive scientific interest as feedstock materials in Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) Three-dimensional (3D) printing. Polylactic Acid (PLA), widely used in FFF 3D printing, as well as its Carbon Black (CB) nanocomposites at different weight percentage (wt.%) filler loadings (0.5, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 wt.%), were prepared via a melt mixing filament extrusion process in this study and utilized to manufacture FFF 3D printed specimens. The nanocomposites were examined for their electrical conductivity. The highest loaded 3D printed CPC (5.0 wt.%) was tested as an electrothermal Joule heating device. Static tensile, flexural, Charpy’s impact and Vickers microhardness mechanical properties were investigated for the neat and PLA/CB 3D printed nanocomposites. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) revealed a stiffening mechanism for the PLA/CB nanocomposites. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) elucidated the samples’ internal and external microstructural characteristics. The PLA/CB 5.0 wt.% nanocomposite demonstrated also antibacterial properties, when examined with a screening process, against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). It can be envisaged that the 3D printed PLA/CB CPCs exhibited a multi-functional performance, and could open new avenues towards low-cost personalized biomedical objects with complex geometry, amongst others, i.e., surgery tools, splints, wearables, etc.


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