Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T01:42:46.305Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Micro-reactive Inkjet Printing of Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Structures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 December 2017

Mei Ying Teo
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, 20, Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Logan Stuart
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, 20, Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Kean C. Aw
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, 20, Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Jonathan Stringer*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, 20, Symonds Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
*
Get access

Abstract

Inkjet printing, of the researched techniques for printing of hydrogels, gives perhaps the best potential control over the shape and composition of the final hydrogel. It is, however, fundamentally limited by the low viscosity of the printed ink, which means that crosslinking of the hydrogel must take place after printing. This can be particularly problematic for hydrogels as the slow diffusion of the crosslinking species through the gel results in very slow vertical printing speeds, leading to dehydration of the gel and (if simultaneously deposited) cell death. Previous attempts to overcome this limitation have involved the sequential printing of alternating layers to reduce the diffusion distance of reactive species. In this work we demonstrate an alternative approach where the crosslinker and gelator are printed so that they collide with each other before impinging upon the substrate, thereby facilitating hydrogel synthesis and patterning in a single step. Using a model system based upon sodium alginate and calcium chloride a series of 3D structures are demonstrated, with vertical printing speeds significantly faster than previous work. The droplet collision is shown to increase advective mixing before impact, reducing the time taken for gelation to occur, and improving definition of printed patterns. With the facile addition of more printing inks, this approach also enables spatially varied composition of the hydrogel, and work towards this will be discussed.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Pataky, K., Braschler, T., Negro, A., Renaud, P., Lutolf, M. P., and Brugger, J., Adv. Mater., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 391396, Jan. 2012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sekitani, T., Noguchi, Y., Zschieschang, U., Klauk, H., and Someya, T., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., vol. 105, no. 13, pp. 49764980, Apr. 2008.Google Scholar
Li, D., Sutton, D., Burgess, A., Graham, D., and Calvert, P. D., J. Mater. Chem., vol. 19, no. 22, p. 3719, 2009.Google Scholar
Qian, J. and Law, C. K., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 331, pp. 5980, Jan. 1997.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brazier-Smith, P. R., Jennings, S. G., and Latham, J., Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Math. Phys. Eng. Sci., vol. 326, no. 1566, pp. 393408, Jan. 1972.Google Scholar
Nikolopoulos, N., Strotos, G., Nikas, K. S., and Bergeles, G., Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 55, no. 7, pp. 21372150, Mar. 2012.Google Scholar
Ashgriz, N. and Poo, J. Y., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 221, pp. 183204, Dec. 1990.Google Scholar
Estrade, J.-P., Carentz, H., Lavergne, G., and Biscos, Y., Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 486491, Oct. 1999.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willis, K. and Orme, M., Exp. Fluids, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 2841, Jan. 2003.Google Scholar
Gao, T.-C., Chen, R.-H., Pu, J.-Y., and Lin, T.-H., Exp. Fluids, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 731738, Jun. 2005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, R.-H., Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 604610, Feb. 2007.Google Scholar
Hinterbichler, H., Planchette, C., and Brenn, G., Exp. Fluids, vol. 56, no. 10, p. 190, Sep. 2015.Google Scholar
Gombotz, W. R. and Wee, S. F., Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev., vol. 64, pp. 194205, Dec. 2012.Google Scholar
Lim, F. and Sun, A. M., Science, vol. 210, no. 4472, pp. 908910, Nov. 1980.Google Scholar
Andersen, T., Auk-Emblem, P., and Dornish, M., Microarrays, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 133161, Mar. 2015.Google Scholar
Schneider, C. A., Rasband, W. S., and Eliceiri, K. W., Nat. Methods, vol. 9, p. 671, Jun. 2012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar