Structural anisotropy characterization of fiber-reinforced hydrogels scaffolds during extrusion-based 3D printing for soft tissue repair.
Résumé
Engineered biomimicking soft tissues have been greatly improved by the use of extrusion-based 3D bioprinting techniques. They are classically made of fiberreinforced hydrogels with designed rheological behavior in order to give mechanical strength and structural support for the cell development. However, the mechanical properties of the extruded material which are influenced by the relationship between the hydrogel rheological behavior and the printing conditions remain unpredictable. Our team has developed a numerical approach to model the orientation of the matrix polymer chains and nanofibrils during extrusion-based 3D printing. To validate the model, the polymer and nanofibril flow-induced anisotropic orientation of the extruded material at the output of the nozzle are needed.