A review on fabrication of 3D printed biomaterials using optical methodologies for tissue engineering applications

Human body comprises of different internal and external biological components. Human organs tend to fail due to continuous or sudden stress which leads to deterioration, failure, and dislocation. The choice of selection and fabrication of materials for tissue engineering play a key role in terms of suitability, sensitivity, and functioning with other organs as a replacement for failed organs. The progressive improvement of the additive manufacturing (AM) approach in healthcare made it possible to print multi-material and customized complex/intricate geometries in a layer-by-layer fashion. The customized or patient-specific implant fabrication can be easily produced with a high success rate due to the development of AM technologies with tailorable properties. The structural behavior of 3D printed biomaterials is a crucial factor in tissue engineering as they affect the functionality of the implants. Various techniques have been developed in appraising the important features and the effects of the subsequent design of the biomaterial implants. The behavior of the AM built biomaterial implants can be understood visually by an imaging system with a high spatial and spectral resolution. This review intends to present an overview of various biomaterials used in implants, followed by a detailed description of optical 3D printing procedures and evaluation of the performance of 3D printed biomaterials using optical characterization. </jats:p

Preparation and Evaluation of the Tensile Characteristics of Carbon Fiber Rod Reinforced 3D Printed Thermoplastic Composites

The most common method to fabricate both simple and complex structures in the additive manufacturing process is fused deposition modeling (FDM). Many researchers have studied the strengthening of FDM components by adding short carbon fibers (CF) or by reinforcing solid carbon fiber rods. In the current research, we sought to enhance the mechanical properties of FDM components by adding bioinspired solid CF rods during the fabrication process. An effective bonding interface of bioinspired CF rods and polylactic acid (PLA) was achieved by triangular interlocking sutures and by employing synthetic glue as the binding agent. In particular, the tensile strength of solid CF rod reinforced PLA samples was studied. Critical parameters such as layer thickness, extruder temperature, extruder speed, and shell thickness were considered for optimization. Significant process parameters were identified through leverage plots using the response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum parameters were found to be layer thickness of 0.04 mm, extruder temperature of 215 °C, extruder speed of 60 mm/s, and shell thickness of 1.2 mm. The results revealed that the bioinspired solid CF rod reinforced PLA (CFRPLA) composite exhibited a tensile strength of 82.06 MPa, which was approximately three times higher than the pure PLA (28 MPa, 66% lower than CFRPLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (28 MPa, 66% lower than CFRPLA), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) (34 MPa, 60% lower than CFRPLA), and nylon (34 MPa, 60% lower than CFRPLA) samples.</jats:p