Athukorala Sandya Shiranthi, Tran Tuan Sang, Balu Rajkamal, Truong Vi Khanh, Chapman James, Dutta Naba Kumar, Roy Choudhury Namita
School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Feb 2;13(3):474. doi: 10.3390/polym13030474.
Electrically conductive hydrogels (ECHs), an emerging class of biomaterials, have garnered tremendous attention due to their potential for a wide variety of biomedical applications, from tissue-engineered scaffolds to smart bioelectronics. Along with the development of new hydrogel systems, 3D printing of such ECHs is one of the most advanced approaches towards rapid fabrication of future biomedical implants and devices with versatile designs and tuneable functionalities. In this review, an overview of the state-of-the-art 3D printed ECHs comprising conductive polymers (polythiophene, polyaniline and polypyrrole) and/or conductive fillers (graphene, MXenes and liquid metals) is provided, with an insight into mechanisms of electrical conductivity and design considerations for tuneable physiochemical properties and biocompatibility. Recent advances in the formulation of 3D printable bioinks and their practical applications are discussed; current challenges and limitations of 3D printing of ECHs are identified; new 3D printing-based hybrid methods for selective deposition and fabrication of controlled nanostructures are highlighted; and finally, future directions are proposed.
导电水凝胶（ECHs）是一类新兴的生物材料，因其在从组织工程支架到智能生物电子学等多种生物医学应用中的潜力而备受关注。随着新型水凝胶系统的发展，此类ECHs的3D打印是快速制造具有多功能设计和可调功能的未来生物医学植入物和设备的最先进方法之一。在这篇综述中，概述了由导电聚合物（聚噻吩、聚苯胺和聚吡咯）和/或导电填料（石墨烯、MXenes和液态金属）组成的最先进的3D打印ECHs，并深入探讨了电导率机制以及可调物理化学性质和生物相容性的设计考虑因素。讨论了3D可打印生物墨水配方及其实际应用的最新进展；确定了ECHs 3D打印当前面临的挑战和局限性；强调了基于3D打印的用于选择性沉积和制造可控纳米结构的新型混合方法；最后提出了未来的发展方向。
