An Integrated Design, Material, and Fabrication Platform for Engineering Biomechanically and Biologically Functional Soft Tissues

摘要

We present a design rationale for stretchable soft network composites for engineering tissues that predominantly function under high tensile loads. The convergence of 3D-printed fibers selected from a design library and biodegradable interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) result in biomimetic tissue engineered constructs (bTECs) with fully tunable properties that can match specific tissue requirements. We present our technology platform using an exemplary soft network composite model that is characterized to be flexible, yet similar to 125 times stronger (E = 3.19 MPa) and similar to 100 times tougher (W-Ext = similar to 2000 kJ m(-3)) than its hydrogel counterpart.