Abstract
Digital light processing (DLP) of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels with high mechanical
toughness represents a long-standing challenge in the 3D printing field. Here, we report a 3D printing
approach for the high-resolution manufacturing of structurally complex and mechanically strong PEG
hydrogels via heat-assisted DLP. Instead of using aqueous solutions of photocrosslinkable monomers,
PEG macromonomer melts were first printed in the absence of water, resulting in bulk PEG networks.
Then, post-printing swelling of the printed networks was achieved in water, producing high-fidelity 3D
hydrogels with complex structures. By employing a dual-macromonomer resin containing a PEG-based
macrophotoinitiator, “all-PEG” hydrogel constructs were produced with compressive toughness up to
1.3 MJ.m-3. By this approach, porous 3D hydrogel scaffolds with trabecular-like architecture were
fabricated, and the scaffold surface supported cell attachment and the formation of a monolayer
mimicking bone-lining cells. This study highlights the promises of heat-assisted DLP in hydrogel
fabrication, which may accelerate the development of 3D tissue-like constructs for regenerative
medicine.
Supplementary materials
Title
shape memory ETH logo
Description
shape recovery of deformed ETH logo by heating gun in close distance
Actions
Title
shape memory tubular object 1
Description
shape recovery of deformed tubular object by hot water
Actions
Title
shape memory tubular object 2
Description
shape recovery of deformed tubular object by heating gun with close distance
Actions
Title
shape memory tubular object 3
Description
shape recovery of deformed tubular object by heating gun with less close distance
Actions
Title
volumetric printing
Description
volumetric printing of PEGDMA 8k aqeous solutions (80 wt% H2O)
Actions