TY  - JOUR
A1  - Pien, Nele
A1  - Bartolf–Kopp, Michael
A1  - Parmentier, Laurens
A1  - Delaey, Jasper
A1  - de Vos, Lobke
A1  - Mantovani, Diego
A1  - van Vlierberghe, Sandra
A1  - Dubruel, Peter
A1  - Jungst, Tomasz
T1  - Melt Electrowriting of a Photo–Crosslinkable Poly(ε–caprolactone)–Based Material into Tubular Constructs with Predefined Architecture and Tunable Mechanical Properties
JF  - Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
N2  - Melt electrowriting (MEW) is an additive manufacturing process that produces highly defined constructs with elements in the micrometer range. A specific configuration of MEW enables printing tubular constructs to create small-diameter tubular structures. The small pool of processable materials poses a bottleneck for wider application in biomedicine. To alleviate this obstacle, an acrylate-endcapped urethane-based polymer (AUP), using a poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) (molar mass: 20 000 g mol\(^{−1}\)) (AUP PCL20k) as backbone material, is synthesized and utilized for MEW. Spectroscopic analysis confirms the successful modification of the PCL backbone with photo-crosslinkable acrylate endgroups. Printing experiments of AUP PCL20k reveal limited printability but the photo-crosslinking ability is preserved post-printing. To improve printability and to tune the mechanical properties of printed constructs, the AUP-material is blended with commercially available PCL (AUP PCL20k:PCL in ratios 80:20, 60:40, 50:50). Print fidelity improves for 60:40 and 50:50 blends. Blending enables modification of the constructs' mechanical properties to approximate the range of blood vessels for transplantation surgeries. The crosslinking-ability of the material allows pure AUP to be manipulated post-printing and illustrates significant differences in mechanical properties of 80:20 blends after crosslinking. An in vitro cell compatibility assay using human umbilical vein endothelial cells also demonstrates the material's non-cytotoxicity.
KW  - acrylate-endcapped urethane-based polymer (AUP)
KW  - tubular constructs
KW  - physicochemical characterization
KW  - photo-crosslinking
KW  - melt electrowriting (MEW)
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318524
SN  - 1438-7492
VL  - 307
IS  - 7
ER  -