Fanjul-Mosteirín Noé, Aguirresarobe Robert, Sadaba Naroa, Larrañaga Aitor, Marin Edurne, Martin Jaime, Ramos-Gomez Nicolas, Arno Maria C, Sardon Haritz, Dove Andrew P
School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K.
Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, U.K.
Chem Mater. 2021 Sep 28;33(18):7194-7202. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c00913. Epub 2021 Sep 14.
The use of three-dimensional (3D) printable hydrogels for biomedical applications has attracted considerable attention as a consequence of the ability to precisely define the morphology of the printed object, allowing patients' needs to be targeted. However, the majority of hydrogels do not possess suitable mechanical properties to fulfill an adequate rheological profile for printability, and hence, 3D printing of cross-linked networks is challenging and normally requires postprinting modifications to obtain the desired scaffolds. In this work, we took advantage of the crystallization process of poly(ethylene glycol) to print non-isocyanate poly(hydroxyurethane) hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties. As a consequence of the crystallization process, the hydrogel modulus can be tuned up to 3 orders of magnitude upon heating up to 40 °C, offering an interesting strategy to directly 3D-print hydrogels without the need of postprinting cross-linking. Moreover, the absence of any toxicity makes these materials ideal candidates for biomedical applications.
由于能够精确界定打印物体的形态，从而满足患者需求，三维（3D）可打印水凝胶在生物医学应用中的使用已引起了相当大的关注。然而，大多数水凝胶不具备合适的机械性能以实现适合可打印性的流变特性，因此，交联网络的3D打印具有挑战性，通常需要进行打印后修饰以获得所需的支架。在这项工作中，我们利用聚乙二醇的结晶过程来打印具有可调机械性能的非异氰酸酯聚（羟基聚氨酯）水凝胶。由于结晶过程，在加热至40°C时，水凝胶模量可调节高达3个数量级，这为直接3D打印水凝胶提供了一种有趣的策略，而无需进行打印后交联。此外，这些材料无任何毒性，使其成为生物医学应用的理想候选材料。
