Abstract

Hybrid Laser Platform for Printing 3D Multi-Scale Multi-Material Hydrogel Structures

Pranav Soman, Assistant Professor, Biomedical and Chemical Engineering , Syracuse University

Over the course of billions of years, nature has created and refined numerous elegant biosynthetic processes to make sophisticated functional structures. In contrast, current manufacturing techniques are still limited in their ability to fabricate 3D multiscale multi-material structures. Few research groups have utilized the ability of ultrafast lasers to shape hydrogel materials into complex 3D structures. However, current laser based methods are limited by scalability, types of materials, and incompatible laser and materials processing requirements, thereby preventing its widespread use in the field. In this work, we report the design and development of a Hybrid Laser Printing (HLP) technology, that combines the key advantages of additive stereolithography (quick on-demand continuous fabrication) and multiphoton polymerization/ablation processes (high-resolution and superior design flexibility). Using a series of proof-of-principle experiments, we show that HLP is capable of printing 3D multiscale multi-material structures using model biocompatible hydrogel materials that are highly difficult and/or extremely time consuming to fabricate using current technologies.