3D printing and characterization of a soft and biostable elastomer with high flexibility and strength for biomedical applications.

3D printing and characterization of a soft and biostable elastomer with high flexibility and strength for biomedical applications. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2020 Apr;104:103649 Authors: Bachtiar EO, Erol O, Millrod M, Tao R, Gracias DH, Romer LH, Kang SH Abstract Recent advancements in 3D printing have revolutionized biomedical engineering by enabling the manufacture of complex and functional devices in a low-cost, customizable, and small-batch fabrication manner. Soft elastomers are particularly important for biomedical applications because they can provide similar mechanical properties as tissues with improved biocompatibility. However, there are very few biocompatible elastomers with 3D printability, and little is known about the material properties of biocompatible 3D printable elastomers. Here, we report a new framework to 3D print a soft, biocompatible, and biostable polycarbonate-based urethane silicone (PCU-Sil) with minimal defects. We systematically characterize the rheological and thermal properties of the material to guide the 3D printing process and have determined a range of processing conditions. Optimal printing parameters such as printing speed, temperature, and layer height are determined via parametric studies aimed at minimizing porosity while maximizing the geometric accuracy of the 3D-printed samples as evaluated via micro-CT. We also characterize the mechanical properties of the 3D-printed structures under qua...
Source: Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials - Category: Materials Science Authors: Tags: J Mech Behav Biomed Mater Source Type: research