Title:

Thermally-triggered Directed Assembly of Microparticles for 3D Printing

The extra cellular matrix (ECM) of human tissue possesses complex and heterogeneous structures. There is a need for engineered materials to meet the unique requirements of tissue engineering scaffolds. We explore if multi-lobed polymeric microparticles capable of self-assembling into a heterogeneous structure with designed pore dimensions can meet this need. The particles would be kept in the dispersed state until extruded through a 3-D printer at which point they would be subjected to a gelation mechanism and self-assemble into a porous macrostructure with targeted porosity. This gelation mechanism would utilize LCST (Lower Critical Solution Temperature) properties of polymer chains grafted onto the surface of the multi-lobed particles, allowing the particles to aggregate. By controlling the dimensions of the lobes, and when/how they associate, we can assemble a macrostructure with designed porosity.

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