University of Wollongong
Browse

3D printing of tough hydrogel composites with spatially varying materials properties

Download (642.5 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2024-11-16, 05:03 authored by Shannon Bakarich, Robert Gorkin III, Reece Gately, Sina Naficy, Peter in het PanhuisPeter in het Panhuis, Geoffrey SpinksGeoffrey Spinks
Biofabrication is the process of transforming materials into systems that reproduce biological structure and function. Previous attempts to create biomimetic systems have often used single materials shaped into limited configurations that do not mimic the heterogeneous structure and properties of many biological tissues. The identification of new bio-inspired materials alongside the development of appropriate fabrication techniques is the key to overcoming the challenge of replicating the functional gradients of these heterogeneous tissues. This paper presents a new extrusion-based gradient printing system that utilizes custom software to control the rates at which two inks are dispensed through a mixing nozzle. The printer was used to fabricate a range of composite materials containing varying blends of a tough alginate/poly(acrylamide) ionic covalent entanglement hydrogel and an acrylated urethane based UV-curable adhesive material. The hard adhesive material acted as particulate reinforcement within the matrix of composites printed with a large hydrogel volume fraction. The composite materials were characterized mechanically and their performance could be modeled with standard composite theory. The platform of a 3D printer allowed these composite materials to be fabricated directly with a smooth and continuous gradient of modulus between the soft hydrogel and harder acrylated urethane material, which may be useful in the development of bio-inspired structures such as artificial tendons.

Funding

Mechanical advantage: biomimetic artificial muscles for micro-machines

Australian Research Council

Find out more...

History

Citation

Bakarich, S. E., Gorkin III, R., Gately, R., Naficy, S., in het Panhuis, P. & Spinks, G. M. (2017). 3D printing of tough hydrogel composites with spatially varying materials properties. Additive Manufacturing, 14 24-30.

Journal title

Additive Manufacturing

Volume

14

Pagination

24-30

Language

English

RIS ID

111779

Usage metrics

    Categories

    Keywords

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC