Thermoresponsive FDM printer filament for forming vascular channels in hydrogels

• Main Authors: Rector, John, Bellan, Leon M
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 30.04.2024
• Subjects: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY; ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OFTHREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVEAGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING,STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F,C08G; APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; CULTURE MEDIA; ENZYMOLOGY; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVINGCARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS; MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONSONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; SPIRITS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; TRANSPORTING; VINEGAR; WINE; WORKING-UP

Provided arm biocompatible polymer compositions, and methods of printing such polymer compositions using a fused deposition modelling printer to form a solid scaffold. In particular, the disclosed compositions may include a thermoresponsive polymer, and the printed scaffold may be used as a sacrificial template providing a three-dimensional vascular structure upon temperature-dependent disintegration. The present compositions and methods may be particularly useful for engineering thick tissues.