3D Printing End-Functionalized Polymer Conjugates to Fabricate Spatially Organized Biomaterials

Biodegradable polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering can be functionalized with specific chemistries to direct desired cellular behavior and matrix formation. These scaffolds are typically modified post-fabrication, which can lead to undesirable changes in scaffold properties.

In addition, most functionalization strategies result in homogeneously distributed chemistries that fail to mimic the anisotropic biochemical organization found in native tissues. To address these challenges, we developed a versatile platform where end-functionalized polymer conjugates are 3D printed into well-defined patterns. The end groups (i.e., peptides, bioorthogonal chemistries) on the conjugate become displayed on the surface during fabrication to generate functionalized scaffolds in a single step without affecting scaffold architecture.

This strategy also enables us to control the spatial organization of multiple chemistries within a continuous construct. This seminar will describe our platform and discuss how we are using this modular approach to fabricate scaffolds to direct osteochondral tissue regeneration.