Development of an indirect solid freeform fabrication process based on microstereolithography for 3D porous scaffolds

Scaffold fabrication using solid freeform fabrication (SFF) technology is a hot topic in tissue engineering. Here, we present a new indirect SFF technology based on microstereolithography (MSTL), which has the highest resolution of all SFF methods, to construct a three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffold by combining SFF with molding technology. To realize this indirect method, we investigated and modified a water-soluble photopolymer. We used MSTL technology to fabricate a high-resolution 3D porous mold composed of the modified polymer. The mold can be removed using an appropriate solvent. We tested two materials, polycaprolactone and calcium sulfate hemihydrate, using the molding process, and developed a lost-mold shape forming process by dissolving the mold. This procedure demonstrated that the proposed method can yield scaffold pore sizes as small as 60–70 µm. In addition, cytotoxicity test results indicated that the proposed process is feasible for producing 3D porous scaffolds.

[1]  K. Ikuta,et al.  Submicron stereolithography for the production of freely movable mechanisms by using single-photon polymerization , 2002 .

[2]  Margam Chandrasekaran,et al.  Rapid prototyping in tissue engineering: challenges and potential. , 2004, Trends in biotechnology.

[3]  Nicholas X. Fang,et al.  Projection micro-stereolithography using digital micro-mirror dynamic mask , 2005 .

[4]  Seung-Woo Han,et al.  Reliability Evaluation of an Oil Cooler for a High-Precision Machining Center , 2007 .

[5]  L G Griffith,et al.  Survival and function of hepatocytes on a novel three-dimensional synthetic biodegradable polymer scaffold with an intrinsic network of channels. , 1998, Annals of surgery.

[6]  Robert Liska,et al.  Water-soluble photopolymers for rapid prototyping of cellular materials , 2005 .

[7]  Yong Qing Fu,et al.  Diamond and diamond-like carbon MEMS , 2007 .

[8]  Paul Roschger,et al.  Towards bone replacement materials from calcium phosphates via rapid prototyping and ceramic gelcasting , 2005 .

[9]  Paul F. Jacobs,et al.  Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing: Fundamentals of Stereolithography , 1992 .

[10]  K. Leong,et al.  The design of scaffolds for use in tissue engineering. Part I. Traditional factors. , 2001, Tissue engineering.

[11]  Benjamin M. Wu,et al.  Scaffold fabrication by indirect three-dimensional printing. , 2005, Biomaterials.

[12]  L G Griffith,et al.  Effect of pore size and void fraction on cellular adhesion, proliferation, and matrix deposition. , 2001, Tissue engineering.

[13]  Jae-Hyung Sim,et al.  Effect of the Laser Beam Size on the Cure Properties of a Photopolymer in Stereolithography , 2007 .

[14]  P H Krebsbach,et al.  Indirect solid free form fabrication of local and global porous, biomimetic and composite 3D polymer-ceramic scaffolds. , 2003, Biomaterials.

[15]  Dietmar W Hutmacher,et al.  Scaffold-based tissue engineering: rationale for computer-aided design and solid free-form fabrication systems. , 2004, Trends in biotechnology.

[16]  Dong-Woo Cho,et al.  Development of a scaffold fabrication system using an axiomatic approach , 2006 .

[17]  Dong-Woo Cho,et al.  Development of an Assembly-free Process Based on Virtual Environment for Fabricating 3D Microfluidic Systems Using Microstereolithography Technology , 2004 .

[18]  Dong-Woo Cho,et al.  Application of microstereolithography in the development of three-dimensional cartilage regeneration scaffolds , 2008, Biomedical microdevices.

[19]  Lin Lu,et al.  Porogen-based solid freeform fabrication of polycaprolactone-calcium phosphate scaffolds for tissue engineering. , 2006, Biomaterials.

[20]  K. Ikuta,et al.  Real three dimensional micro fabrication using stereo lithography and metal molding , 1993, [1993] Proceedings IEEE Micro Electro Mechanical Systems.

[21]  Edward Y Lee,et al.  Synthesis and characterization of a model extracellular matrix that induces partial regeneration of adult mammalian skin. , 1989, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.