Anna-Marie Susic

Bachelor student

Development of Organic-Inorganic Melt Electrowriting Scaffolds for Biomedical Application

 

Supervisors: Dr. Irem Unalan, Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Melt electrowriting (MEW) is an emerging additive manufacturing technique providing an alternative technology to 3D printing and electrospinning [1]. MEW enables the production of fibers on the microscale with order geometry, thereby it can be used to create scaffolds for biomedical applications [2]. The most commonly used material for MEW is Polycaprolactone (PCL) [1]. PCL is a semicrystalline, biodegradable polyester that is suitable for MEW due to its low melting point, fast solidification and thermal stability [2][3]. However, due to its hydrophobic nature, surface treatment is required to enhance cell adhesion, attachment and bioactivity [2][4]. This bachelor’s thesis aims to fabricate MEW scaffolds, modify their surface with specific treatments and then incorporate hydroxyapatite particles to enhance their bioactivity for biomedical applications. Additionally, this project will focus on the investigation of different scaffold geometries as well as the effect of inorganic incorporation in terms of physical, mechanical, and chemical properties.

[1] Unalan, I., Occhipinti, I., Miola, M., Vernè, E., & Boccaccini, A.R. (2023). Development of super-Paramagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticle-coated Melt Electrowritten Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications. Macromolecular Bioscience, 24(03), 10.1002/mabi.202300397.

[2] Hammerl, A., Cano, C., De-Juan-Pardo, E., van Griensven, M., Poh, P. (2019). A Growth Factor-Free Co-Culture System of Osteoblasts and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells for the Evaluation of the Osteogenesis Potential of Melt-Electrowritten Polycaprolactone Scaffolds. International journal of molecular sciences, 20(05), 10.3390/ijms20051068.

[3] Paxton, N., Ren, J., Ainsworth, M., Solanki, A., Jones, J., Allenby, M., Stevens, M., Woodruff, M. (2019). Rheological Characterization of Biomaterials Directs. Additive Manufacturing of Strontium-Substituted Bioactive Glass/Polycaprolactone Microfibers. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 40(11), 10.1002/marc.201900019.

[4] Kade, J., Dalton, P. (2021). Polymers for Melt Electrowriting. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 10(01), 10.1002/adhm.202001232.