[Back]

S. Ligon, S. Baudis, F. Nehl, A. Mautner, B. Husar, M. Schwentenwein, A. Wilke, J. Stampfl, G. Russmüller, R. Liska:
"Biocompatible monomers for photo-based additive manufacturing technologies";
Poster: Materials Science and Engineering 2012, Darmstadt; 09-25-2012 - 09-27-2012; in: "MSE Programme", (2012), 62.

Additive manufacturing technologies (AMTs) can be coupled with computer aided design (CAD) to provide a number of advantages versus traditional processing methods such as CNC milling. On the one hand, savings are made in material, energy, and time required; and on the other, photo based methods such as stereolithography and 3D printing deliver greatly improved resolution with feature sizes below 100 microns. Common to these AMT techniques, parts are built in layers by successive curing of a photosensitive resin. Commercially available resins for AMT are primarily based on multifunctional acrylate monomers which cure rapidly and precisely. Unfortunately, limited control of modulus and low biodegradability hinder application of AMT into tissue engineering and other biomaterial fields. In response to the first of these issues, thiol based chain transfer agents were added to urethane acrylate resins to lower crosslink density and consequently reduce the modulus. To provide biodegradability, monomers with ester linkages were used or synthesized. In addition, a series of vinyl ester monomers have been photocured to provide materials which degrade by a slightly different mechanism than polyacrylates. Importantly, toxicity of both monomers and residual degradation products has been significantly reduced. Vinyl carbonates and vinyl carbamates have also shown to provide polymers with improved biocompatibility. Cure kinetics of these monomers is typically between that of acrylates and methacrylates. In addition, the monomers are amenable to thiol chain transfer allowing precise photo patterning of soft and degradable biomaterials.

http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_210430.pdf