Speaker
Description
Introduction
Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) has been the subject of extensive research due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability and excellent rheological and mechanical properties. Especially its suitability for extrusion-based 3D-printing in order to obtain patient-specific-implants has attracted significant attention. However, its application in light-based 3D-printing techniques remains scarce, mainly due to the brittleness associated with acrylate-mediated photo-crosslinking. Nevertheless, light-based 3D-printing techniques such as digital light processing offer distinct benefits in terms of throughput and resolution. Therefore, in order to overcome the drawbacks associated with acrylate-mediated crosslinking, thiol-ene photo-crosslinked PCL is proposed.
Results and discussion
With the aim to develop thiol-ene photocrosslinkable PCL, PCL-diol was end-functionalized with alkene functionalities (i.e. allyl alcohol) via urethane coupling chemistry. The ene-terminated PCL was subsequently combined with a tetrafunctional thiol (i.e. pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate)) in order to obtain thiol-ene photo-crosslinked networks. In-depth characterization of the networks was performed through 1H-NMR, FTIR, photo-rheology, DMA, TGA, DSC and tensile testing. As a result of the step growth polymerization, homogeneous networks with improved mechanical properties are obtained, compared to acrylate-mediated crosslinking (elongation at break extended from 100 to 700% and ultimate strength increased from 10 to 21 MPa). Finally, its application in digital light processing, a light-based 3D-printing technique, is currently being assessed. Throughout the study, acrylate-terminated PCL was applied as reference. The key findings will be presented at the conference.
Conclusion
Thiol-ene photo-crosslinked PCL-based networks offer distinct benefits over conventional acrylate-based crosslinking. As a result, the proposed materials have great potential in the context of light-based 3D-printing for biomedical applications.
FWO-SB (1SA2321N) funding acknowledged – Patent regarding the materials filed
| Speaker Country | Belgium |
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