Polyether- and serum albumin-based hydrogels and bioplastics for bio-interfacing applications leveraging additive manufacturing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as 3D printing, affords numerous advantages as an automated means of fabricating 3D objects with excellent design freedom and minimal waste. Despite remarkable progress over the past couple of decades toward making 3D printing technologies more capable and more accessible, there is still a need for more diverse functional materials for 3D printing. For example, in biomedical science and engineering, 3D printing has been used to fabricate anatomical models, medical devices, and tissue- and organ-like constructs comprising living cells. For many of these applications, there is a need for materials that better mimic or interface with the living systems in question. In tissue engineering and therapeutic delivery, hydrogels have shown great promise, as hydrated three-dimensional networks in which cells can be cultured or therapeutics can be encapsulated. Additionally, when naturally derived hydrogels are dehydrated, more functional or sustainable alternatives to petroleum-derived plastics can be obtained. These materials, which can be referred to as “bioplastics,” can be used to fabricate functional objects via 3D printing. This dissertation focuses on the design, synthesis, and application of functional hydrogels and bioplastics for additive manufacturing in the biomedical space. Chapter 1 contains a brief overview of 3D printing, hydrogels, and water-processable bioplastics, with an emphasis on their biomedical applications. Chapter 2 features a methodology that leverages additive manufacturing to fabricate coaxial nozzles for extrusion of hydrogel tubes toward modeling vascular endothelium. Chapter 3 highlights a highly tunable protein-based bioplastic platform for light-based (vat photopolymerization) 3D printing of functional objects. Chapter 4 describes dynamic hydrogels utilizing a protein-ligand interaction toward potential applications in therapeutic delivery or 3D bioprinting.