Additive manufacturing has become a pivotal technique in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, yet its progress has been limited by the number of available photochemically printable resins systems that are fully degradable and resorbable. Here, we describe a series of ABA-triblock copolymers consisting of a flexible propylene succinate core unit (B block) of varying lengths and crosslinkable poly(propylene fumarate) end groups (A blocks) that are synthesized through ring-opening copolymerization. The ABA triblock copolymers can be 3D printed utilizing photochemically triggered thiol-ene chemistry encompassing a wide variation in thiol to alkene ratios. The 3D structures printed using thiol-ene chemistry possess a significantly improved build time over traditional PPF resin formulations that have employed diethyl fumarate. The 3D printed structures are fully degraded under hydrolytic conditions, and the mechanical properties and degradation rate can be tailored by polymer composition and alkene to thiol ratio.

Synthesis and photochemically-triggered 3D printing of degradable ABA-triblock polyester elastomers

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.