Two-photon polymerization-based 3D micro-scaffolds toward biomedical devices

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2024-08, Vol.493, p.152469, Article 152469
• Main Authors: Wang, Wei, Chen, Zi-Qing, Lin, Bin, Liu, Mei-Chen, Zhang, Yang, Liu, Shu-Juan, Li, Yang, Zhao, Qiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical devices; Cell culture; Micro-scaffolds; Organoids; Tissue engineering; Two-photon polymerization
• ISSN: 1385-8947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.152469

[Display omitted] •The theoretical mechanisms of the relationship between TPP and TPA are outlined.•A discussion about selection of femtosecond laser processing from various aspects.•The significant role of materials properties and structures enhanced of scaffolds are summarized.•Elucidating current challenges and potential applications of TPP-based scaffolds.•Based on 3D scaffolds, applications linked to biomedical are detailed introduced. In the research of clinical medicine, life sciences, tissue engineering, and emerging fields like organoids, in vitro cell culture technology represents the fundamental step, with widely recognized advantages of three-dimensional (3D) culture substrates over traditional two-dimensional culture. Further review and exploration of the preparation methods and materials for 3D cell scaffolds is of great significance for the interdisciplinary field of medicine and engineering. As the maturity of 3D micro-structures machining technologies, various paths that can prepare micro-scaffolds for cell culture have been proposed. The two-photon polymerization (TPP) has attracted significant interest among them due to the advantages of high resolution, without mask, simple process and wide range of materials. The key factor of two-photon polymerization is the cross-linking of the suitable materials, which formed versatile scaffolds to influence cell proliferation, differentiation and arrangement. This review features a comprehensive account on the latest advancements in TPP-based 3D micro-scaffolds for cell culture, organoids, life science and tissue engineering. After a brief introduction of processing principle of TPP, the review discusses critically various 3D cell scaffolds based on TPP-materials and structures including protein-based biomaterials, hybrid inorganic–organic materials, photoresist materials, resin materials, synthetic degradable materials and other common hydrogel materials. Subsequently, the applications of TPP-based scaffold in biomedical sciences also are reviewed. Finally, current weaknesses and fabrication limitations for the 3D cell scaffolds fabricated by TPP-based materials applied currently are summarized. In addition, we have further put forward our own views on the future development direction and industry trends in the field of TPP manufacturing of cell scaffolds. We believe that the advancement of design and preparation technology of 3D cell scaffolds will bring new creative points for fields such as org