Journal
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
Volume 10, Issue 20, Pages -Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202100898
Keywords
2-photon lithography; additive manufacturing; material properties; tissue engineering
Funding
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) [436799631]
- European Union [862016]
- Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments by the project Biospin
- DFG [WE 4678/12-1]
- EU
- federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia [EFRE 30 00 883 02]
- Projekt DEAL
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This study demonstrates the manufacturing of micron-sized wet-spun fibers with diverse geometries using a microfluidic spinneret, which contributes to tissue engineering applications by providing strong mechanical properties. The research shows that this manufacturing process pushes the boundaries of fiber fabrication, leading to the development of more refined and complex tissue engineering materials in the future.
For successful material deployment in tissue engineering, the material itself, its mechanical properties, and the microscopic geometry of the product are of particular interest. While silk is a widely applied protein-based tissue engineering material with strong mechanical properties, the size and shape of artificially spun silk fibers are limited by existing processes. This study adjusts a microfluidic spinneret to manufacture micron-sized wet-spun fibers with three different materials enabling diverse geometries for tissue engineering applications. The spinneret is direct laser written (DLW) inside a microfluidic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip using two-photon lithography, applying a novel surface treatment that enables a tight print-channel sealing. Alginate, polyacrylonitrile, and silk fibers with diameters down to 1 mu m are spun, while the spinneret geometry controls the shape of the silk fiber, and the spinning process tailors the mechanical property. Cell-cultivation experiments affirm bio-compatibility and showcase an interplay between the cell-sized fibers and cells. The presented spinning process pushes the boundaries of fiber fabrication toward smaller diameters and more complex shapes with increased surface-to-volume ratio and will substantially contribute to future tailored tissue engineering materials for healthcare applications.
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