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J. Stampfl, J. Torgersen, A. Ovsianikov, X.H. Qin, Z. Li, S Mühleder, W Holnthoner, R. Liska:
"Photo-stimulation of low-toxicity biopolymers in additive manufacturing";
Talk: Materials Science and Engineering 2012, Darmstadt, Deutschland; 09-25-2012 - 09-27-2012; in: "MSE Programme", (2012), 22.

Additive manufacturing techniques (AMT) have found increasing interest for the fabrication of 3D scaffolds. The constructs can be produced reproducibly and in accordance to a CAD model. Lithography based techniques are especially interesting, since they allow the fabrication of scaffolds with excellent feature resolution down to 100nm. In addition, the manufacturing process can be performed in the presence of living cells. The cells can be introduced by two different ways into the construct: seeding of cells onto the surface after the fabrication and incorporation of cells into the fabrication process. The latter might allow higher cell densities and better control over the distribution.
Two-photon polymerisation (2PP) is a rapidly emerging platform for the 3D microfabrication of biocompatible scaffolds. Most biological tissues exhibit a window of transparency at the wavelength of the applied femtosecond laser.
In this work, two classes of photopolymers, both of them compatible with lithography-based AMT, are presented. Hydrogels based on synthetic (PEGDa) and natural monomers (Gelatine Hydrolisate, Bovine Serum Albumin) are presented. Using novel water-soluble 2PP initiators (4,4´-dialkylamino bis(styryl)benzene core), complex 3D constructs can be fabricated reproducibly in environments with high water contents. As second class of materials, photopolymers with low toxicity, based on vinylesters and vinyl-carbamates as reactive group, are introduced.
The biocompatibility of the presented compounds is evaluated and reported. We demonstrate the feasibility and potential of two-photon polymerisation for the bio-fabrication of 3D tissue constructs directly in the presence of living cells.

http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_210423.pdf