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R. Reichsöllner, S. Orman, C. Hofstetter, M. Schwentenwein, G. Russmüller, J. Stampfl, R. Liska, S. Baudis:
"3D-printed, tough and biocompatible photopolymers for in vivo bone tissue regeneration";
Poster: Termis Eu 2019, Rhodes, Greece; 05-27-2019 - 05-31-2019; in: "Termis EU 2019", (2019), 1625.

INTRODUCTION: Additive manufacturing
technologies (AMTs) like digital light processing
stereolithography (DLP-SLA) are emerging
methods for scaffold preparation in patientspecific
bone tissue engineering approaches.
These methods are traditionally based on
(meth)acrylate resins resulting in highly
crosslinked materials, which often suffer from
poor mechanical properties. Moreover,
(meth)acrylates exhibit considerable cytotoxicity
and resulting polymer networks degrade to
unfavorable polyacids. We established novel vinyl
ester (VE) monomer systems with considerably
lower cytotoxicity and polyvinyl alcohol as
favorable degradation product. Tailoring of these
material systems promises a novel class of DLPSLA-
processable biomaterials with potential
applications as scaffolds for in vivo bone tissue
regeneration (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Vinyl ester-based materials in bone
tissue regeneration.
METHODS: VE-based systems were explored
and compared to (meth)acrylate benchmark
systems. Polymer network regulation by
established thiol-ene chemistry approaches were
employed to increase reactivity and resulting
mechanical properties, especially toughness.[1]
Further toughness improvement was attained by
including newly synthesized VEs with spacers of
variable molecular structures [2], and macromolecular
reactive and non-reactive resin
additives.[3] Monomer cytocompatibility was
tested by in vitro tests with murine fibroblasts.
Photoreactivity was examined via RT-NIR
photorheology. (Thermo-)mechanical properties
of the crosslinked materials were determined via
dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA),
tensile testing, and impact testing.
RESULTS: Thiol-ene chemistry proved to be a
valuable tool to increase resin reactivity and to
improve the mechanical performance of the
photopolymers due to its inherent networkregulation
capabilities. Alternative networkmodification
strategies further increased the
toughness of the materials while still maintaining
their 3D printability.
DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS: VE-based
resin systems can be tailored towards tough 3Dprintable
scaffolds as screwable implants for bone
tissue regeneration approaches with superior
biocompatibility, and biodegradation behavior.

Additive manufacturing technologies, digital light processing stereolithography, bone tissue engineering, (meth)acrylate resins, poor mechanical properties,novel vinyl ester (VE) monomer systems