PhotoPolyCarb · Biodegradable bottlebrush polycarbonates with benzophenone groups for the preparation of tissue engineering scaffolds
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-01-24 → 2024-01-23
- EU contribution
- €212,934
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Biodegradable bottlebrush polycarbonates with benzophenone groups for the preparation of tissue engineering scaffolds
Photoreactive monomers and polymers have emerged as key components in the preparation of resin formulations for 3D printing (3DP). Techniques such as stereolithography (SLA) and digital light printing (DLP) have gained increasing attention to light assisted polymerisation, most likely on account of their high resolution and fast printing speed. However, the number of resins for use in SLA and DLP remains limited and most commercially available ones are based on acrylates and epoxides, which are commonly produced from fossil sources - non-sustainable. Besides, undesired toxicity and non-degradability restrict the use of acrylated-based prototypes in the medical field. To overcome these challenges, a new platform that allows the printing of degradable, non-toxic and additive-free 3D objects is needed. Initially, the main goal of this project was to investigate the modification of cyclic carbonates with photoactive benzophenones to obtain photoreactive resins, allowing the crosslinking of materials through C-H-insertion without the addition of additives. However, the developed system showed certain complexity and could not be easily translated into 3D printing. With this in mind, a new system was developed to attend the current demands of commercial resins for 3DP. For this, renewable resins based on terpenes and multi-arm thiol were designed to access materials with a wide range of thermomechanical properties. Although the project followed a different direction, the main objectives remained the same: 1. Synthesis of novel photocrosslinkable resins. 2. Investigate the effect of resin architecture on the mechanical properties of the crosslinked materials. 3. Resin formulation for 3DP using the polymers/copolymers designed in step 1 and 2. The last objective involving the evaluation of the biological properties of the designed prints was not performed, as this was not a priority considering the remaining time of the project.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Over the past years, aliphatic polycarbonates (APCs) have gained prominence in the biomedical field in reason of their features allied to their in vivo bioresorbability. Unlike polyesters, the degradation products of APCs are acid free, which prevents tissue inflammation and drug denaturation upon their use as implants and drug vehicles, making them a potential material in the medical field. Simultaneously, the 3D printing of biomaterials has recently advanced the development of tailor-made implants, which can improve the patients’ health and quality of life. However, the translative impact of 3D printing to clinical use is still beset with limitations, including the brittle nature of the properties of materials that are available, the crosslinking chemistries that hinder translation into cell-laden biomaterials and toxicity of residual monomers and additives. PhotoPolyCarb aims to overcome these limitations by combining functional photoreactive polycarbonates from different topographies with stereolithography (SLA), thus avoiding the use of toxic monomers and photoinitiators during the printing process. In a transfer of knowledge, PhotoPolyCarb will bring together the expertise of the researchers in areas such as chemical engineering reactions (from the applicant), polymer chemistry (from the host) and bioengineering (from the secondment). The fellowship will permit the applicant to work with world-renowned research groups in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering, allowing her to develop skills in an interdisciplinary environment and consolidate her career. The dissemination of research results will target the professional audience as well the public through outreach activities.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM · BirminghamCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union