Abstract

4D Bioprinting Smart and Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

Lijie Grace Zhang, Assistant Professor, The George Washington University

4D printing is an emerging additive manufacturing process to fabricate smart structures with the ability to transform over time. Our pioneering work in designing novel 4D bioprinting smart and nanomaterials has shown great promise for various biomedical applications. We have successfully designed a series of novel 4D bioprinted tissue structures with multi-responsive abilities, including internal stress-induced, solvent-responsive, thermo-responsive, and light-responsive tissue constructs. These smart constructs exhibit excellent biocompatibility and have significantly enhanced various stem cell functions when compared to traditional bioprinting materials. For instance, recently novel light-triggered 4D bioprinted tissue constructs were created via incorporating nanomaterials into our stimuli-responsive smart materials. A proof-of-concept 4D bioprinted brain model was fabricated and the resultant construct exhibited a dynamically and remotely controllable transformation triggered by light in a spatiotemporal manner, which promoted excellent neural stem cell growth and differentiation. Our studies have shown the great potential of 4D bioprinting for the development of multi-responsive smart tissues and advanced biomedical devices.