Thermally Assisted Electrohydrodynamic Jet High-Resolution Printing of High-Molecular Weight Biopolymer 3D Structures

High-molecular biodegradable and bioresorbable polymers are widely used in tissue engineering applications. In this work, a high-resolution 3D printing technique, thermally assisted electrohydrodynamic jet (TAEJ) printing, is developed for patterning high-molecular weight biopolymer 3D structures. Boiling point graded polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and PVP/polycaprolactone biopolymer inks are prepared. The resultant effects of electrohydrodynamic force and thermal field are applied on these polymer ink, to form a stable and controllable sub-micrometer scale jet at the needle tip. Fine jet 2D period patterns and 3D high aspect ratio structures of the biopolymer inks are directly printed using fine jet at a typical feature size of sub-micrometer. Furthermore, TAEJ printing of 3D heterogeneous high-molecular weight biopolymer scaffold is demonstrated. Cell culture shows high biocompatibility and cartilage regeneration in vitro, which provides a great potential for tissue engineering applications.