Stereolithography is a subset of additive manufacturing in which a photo-active polymer and a UV light source are used to rapidly generate a three-dimensional object, layer by layer. A wide variety of photo-active oligomers or polymers can be chosen from commercial sources or from the literature, allowing for the creation of objects of varying mechanical, thermal, and optical properties. This technique affords features as small as 30 μm and layer thicknesses as small as 25 μm, allowing for highly customized and well-defined 3D fabrication. This work describes the synthesis and characterization of low T<sub>g</sub>, methacrylate-terminated polyesters for tissue scaffold applications, as shown in the figure below. Tri(ethylene glycol) was chosen based on its known biocompatibility. Similarly, various even-chain diacids were selected, as these can be completely metabolized <i>in vivo</i> to form acetyl (CoA) and succinyl CoA, both of which are Krebs cycle intermediates. Polyester molecular weight was tuned to provide an optimal balance between processing viscosity and crosslink density. Various comonomers were mixed with the methacrylate-terminated polyester oligomers, reducing processing viscosity and once photocured, demonstrating highly efficient photocuring and tunability of dynamic modulus of the resulting films. The thermal properties and viscosity of these oligomers were characterized for feasibility of use in the 3D printing process. Finally, cell viability and toxicity was determined via a Cell Titer Glo® viability assay with MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells.

3D-printed biodegradable polyester tissue scaffolds for cell adhesion

250th National Meeting (2015)

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