Chapter 13
Surface Tension-Assisted Additive Manufacturing
of Tubular, Multicomponent Biomaterials
Elia A. Guzzi, He ´ loı ¨se Ragelle, and Mark W. Tibbitt
Abstract
The fabrication of functional biomaterials for organ replacement and tissue repair remains a major goal of
biomedical engineering. Advances in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and computer-aided
design (CAD) are advancing the tools available for the production of these devices. Ideally, these constructs
should be matched to the geometry and mechanical properties of the tissue at the needed implant site. To
generate geometrically defined and structurally supported multicomponent and cell-laden biomaterials, we
have developed a method to integrate hydrogels with 3D-printed lattice scaffolds leveraging surface
tension-assisted AM.
Key words Multicomponent biomaterials, Additive manufacturing, Computer-aided design, Regenerative medicine, 3D printing
1 Introduction
Living biomaterials for organ replacement or tissue repair are fabricated traditionally by placing cells on or within engineered support matrices [1, 2]. Ideally, these constructs should be designed to
match the geometry and mechanical properties of the native tissue
at the implant site in the individual patient and provide a suitable
microenvironment for cell growth and tissue integration. The
design and fabrication of such personalized implants is being
enabled by advances in computer-aided design (CAD) and additive
manufacturing (AM) technologies combined with new chemistries
for the fabrication of materials amenable to biomedical
applications [3].
3D bioprinting is an emerging tool for manufacturing living
biomaterials for regenerative medicine that allows for tailored
geometry and cellular organization specific to the tissue of interest
[4]. 3D bioprinting leverages techniques developed for AM to
fabricate, layer-by-layer, spatially organized and complex
Alberto Rainer and Lorenzo Moroni (eds.), Computer-Aided Tissue Engineering: Methods and Protocols,
Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2147, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0611-7_13,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
149
Surface Tension-Assisted Additive Manufacturing
of Tubular, Multicomponent Biomaterials
Elia A. Guzzi, He ´ loı ¨se Ragelle, and Mark W. Tibbitt
Abstract
The fabrication of functional biomaterials for organ replacement and tissue repair remains a major goal of
biomedical engineering. Advances in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and computer-aided
design (CAD) are advancing the tools available for the production of these devices. Ideally, these constructs
should be matched to the geometry and mechanical properties of the tissue at the needed implant site. To
generate geometrically defined and structurally supported multicomponent and cell-laden biomaterials, we
have developed a method to integrate hydrogels with 3D-printed lattice scaffolds leveraging surface
tension-assisted AM.
Key words Multicomponent biomaterials, Additive manufacturing, Computer-aided design, Regenerative medicine, 3D printing
1 Introduction
Living biomaterials for organ replacement or tissue repair are fabricated traditionally by placing cells on or within engineered support matrices [1, 2]. Ideally, these constructs should be designed to
match the geometry and mechanical properties of the native tissue
at the implant site in the individual patient and provide a suitable
microenvironment for cell growth and tissue integration. The
design and fabrication of such personalized implants is being
enabled by advances in computer-aided design (CAD) and additive
manufacturing (AM) technologies combined with new chemistries
for the fabrication of materials amenable to biomedical
applications [3].
3D bioprinting is an emerging tool for manufacturing living
biomaterials for regenerative medicine that allows for tailored
geometry and cellular organization specific to the tissue of interest
[4]. 3D bioprinting leverages techniques developed for AM to
fabricate, layer-by-layer, spatially organized and complex
Alberto Rainer and Lorenzo Moroni (eds.), Computer-Aided Tissue Engineering: Methods and Protocols,
Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2147, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0611-7_13,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
149