Poster C7 - Fabrication and Physical Characterization of a Printed Bioabsorbable Mesh

Thursday, October 24, 2024

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM EST

Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Presenting Author(s)

Vivienne Zacher

Undergraduate Researcher
National High Magnetic Field Lab
Hollywood , Florida, United States

Co-Author(s)

GP

Gabriela Plautz

Post Doc
National Magnetic Field Laboratory, United States
MS

Mary-Jean Savitsky

Ph.D. Student
National High Magnetic Field Lab, United States
Anya Tillman

Undergraduate Researcher
National High Magnetic Field Lab, United States
Nellymar Santiago-Rivera

Undergraduate Researcher
Florida State University/National High Magnetic Field Lab
Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Izabela Kowalik, UG

Undergraduate Researcher
National High Magnetic Field Lab
Land O' Lakes, Florida, United States
SR

Subramanian Ramakrishnan

Professor of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering
FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida, United States

Last Author(s)

MT

Mathew Thomas

Director of Thoracic Surgery
Mayo Clinic, United States

Primary Investigator(s)

JA

Jamel Ali

Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University, Florida, United States

Introduction: The use of bioabsorbable implants, structures capable of breaking down and being absorbed by the body overtime, are gaining considerable attention for use in regenerative medicine. These biomaterials offer significant advantages when compared to many common non-degradable materials widely used in medical devices today. For example, they can eliminate the need to be removed due to their controlled absorption, promote wound healing, and lower overall patient risk. Furthermore, ability to three dimensionally (3D) print the materials to take on many shapes and sizes offers a wider range of design flexibility versus other manufacturing methods. Here we explore how altering the printing parameters, including temperature and number of layers, can change the mechanical properties of implantable a bioabsorbable mesh.

Materials and

Methods: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) was used to extrude Polylactic acid (PLA) filament into a mesh. The mesh is 20 mm by 50 mm with 1 mm void spaces. Mechanical testing of meshes printed at 205℃, 207℃, and 210℃ were analyzed to determine temperatures' effect on the stress-strain curve, ultimate tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity. For each temperature, tensile tests were completed for meshes with one, two, and three layers of thickness. The thickness of each layer was 0.25mm. Novel medical grade PLA bioabsorbable block and polyaxial copolymers were also printed using FDM. Another bioabsorbable material, polycaprolactone (PCL), was printed into a mesh using the UpNano printer with two photon polymerization. The PCL mesh is 19mm x 7.6mm.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: The printability of the PLA and PCL meshes is confirmed though optical microscopy. After, the materials mechanical properties were analyzed. The Young’s modulus was determined by the slope of the elastic region, and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) is the maximum stress on the curve. The largest Young’s modulus is 2538.3 MPa, and it is the PLA printed at 205℃ with one layer. Moreover, the smallest Young's modulus is for 3 layers 207℃ and is 1757.9 MPa. PLA printed at 207°C with two layers has the highest ultimate tensile strength of 29.557 MPa, and 210℃ with 1 layer has the lowest UTS of 16.2727 MPa.

For the applications of a bioabsorbable mesh for surgical procedures, the sample must be elastic but also have a high UTS. The UTS was the greatest in samples printed in two layers for all three temperatures. Samples printed in three layers could have an increase in porosity, leading to a decrease in UTS. This can be looked at in the future by looking at the samples microstructure using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Furthermore, Young’s modulus tends to decrease as the number of layers increases for all three temperatures. Additional tensile testing needs to be done for the PCL mesh.

Bioabsorbable meshes show promise for surgical procedures. Future studies will include determining the degradation profiles of these materials and incorporating a hydrogel layer with cells with wound healing capabilities.

Acknowledgements (Optional): This work was funded by the National Science Foundation (No. EES-2306449, EES-2219558) and supported by the NSF FAMU CREST Center award (No. EES-1735968). All the work was performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which is supported by National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-1644779 and the State of Florida. This work is in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.