Abstract
Nanocomposites made from alginate and nanoclay are extensively applied for diverse biomedical applications. However, the lack of a clear understanding of the interactions between alginate and nanoclay makes it difficult to rationally design the nanocomposites for different material extrusion-based 3D bioprinting strategies. Here, a combined analytical model is proposed to accurately predict the interaction mechanisms between alginate and nanoclay through small-angle neutron scattering. These mechanisms are summarized into a phase diagram that can guide the design of alginate-nanoclay nanocomposites for different bioprinting applications. The rheological properties of various nanocomposites are measured to validate the proposed interaction mechanisms at the macroscale. Accordingly, three representative extrusion-based bioprinting strategies are linked with the nanocomposite design and applied to freeform fabricate complex structures. A roadmap is summarized to bridge the gap between biomaterial design and bioprinting processes, enabling the rapid and rational selection of biomaterial formula based on available 3D printing methods, and vice versa.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Advanced Materials Technologies |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - 2024 |
Funding
W.H. and C.Z. contributed equally to this work. The SANS research was performed as part of a user proposal at the Spallation Neutron Source, a US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The SEM/EDS research was supported by a user project at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is also a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. L.R. would like to acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program through NSHE sub\u2010award number: AWD0002282\u20101937966. R.C. would like to acknowledge the support of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program through NSHE sub\u2010award number: AWD01\u201000002282. D.Z. would like to acknowledge the support of the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFA0703000) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52175289). Y.J. would like to acknowledge the support of the NSF (OIA\u20102229004).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| Office of Science | |
| National Natural Science Foundation of China | 52175289, OIA‐2229004 |
| National Science Foundation | AWD01‐00002282, AWD0002282‐1937966 |
| National Key Research and Development Program of China | 2018YFA0703000 |
Keywords
- 3D bioprinting strategies
- alginate-nanoclay nanocomposites
- biomaterial design
- combined analytical model
- small-angle neutron scattering
