3D-printed self-healing hydrogels via Digital Light Processing

Self-healing hydrogels may mimic the behavior of living tissues, which can autonomously repair minor damages, and therefore have a high potential for application in biomedicine. So far, such hydrogels have been processed only via extrusion-based additive manufacturing technology, limited in freedom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2021-04, Vol.12 (1), p.2462-2462, Article 2462
Main Authors: Caprioli, Matteo, Roppolo, Ignazio, Chiappone, Annalisa, Larush, Liraz, Pirri, Candido Fabrizio, Magdassi, Shlomo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/301/923/1027
639/301/930/1032
639/638/298/923/1028
Additive manufacturing
Automation
Damage
Energy storage
Extrusion
Guided Tissue Regeneration - methods
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Hydrogels
Hydrogels - chemical synthesis
Hydrogels - therapeutic use
Manufacturing engineering
multidisciplinary
Polymers - chemistry
Printing, Three-Dimensional
Repair
Robotics
Room temperature
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Technology
Three dimensional printing
Tissues
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Summary:Self-healing hydrogels may mimic the behavior of living tissues, which can autonomously repair minor damages, and therefore have a high potential for application in biomedicine. So far, such hydrogels have been processed only via extrusion-based additive manufacturing technology, limited in freedom of design and resolution. Herein, we present 3D-printed hydrogel with self-healing ability, fabricated using only commercially available materials and a commercial Digital Light Processing printer. These hydrogels are based on a semi-interpenetrated polymeric network, enabling self-repair of the printed objects. The autonomous restoration occurs rapidly, at room temperature, and without any external trigger. After rejoining, the samples can withstand deformation and recovered 72% of their initial strength after 12 hours. The proposed approach enables 3D printing of self-healing hydrogels objects with complex architecture, paving the way for future applications in diverse fields, ranging from soft robotics to energy storage. Self-healing hydrogels can mimic the damage repair behaviour of living tissues, but such hydrogels have only been processed via extrusion-based additive manufacturing technology. Here, the authors demonstrate a rapidly self-healing hydrogel which can be processed by DLP printing.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-021-22802-z