AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ijb.2725
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Stereolithography 3D printing of microgroove master moulds for topography-induced nerve guidance conduits

Hexin Yue1 ,  Xuzhao Liu1 ,  Kejian Hou1 ,  Cian Vyas1,2* ,  Paulo Bartolo1,2*
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1 School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
2 Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
IJB, 2725 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.2725
Submitted: 12 January 2024 | Accepted: 23 February 2024 | Published: 31 May 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

 Patients who have peripheral nerve damage from trauma or disease may suffer lifelong disability. Current interventions such as nerve allografts are inadequate due to limited availability of tissue and donor-site morbidity. Commercial nerve guidance conduits are used to bridge the damaged nerve gap and restore function. Typically, however, they lack cell-instructive guidance cues to promote directed regeneration. Tissue-engineered nerve guidance conduits that utilise micro- and nano-topographical architectures have been demonstrated to direct cell behaviour and contact guidance. This study uses projection micro-stereolithography-based three-dimensional (3D) printing to fabricate microgrooved (10–30 μm) master moulds to produce polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) moulds and solvent cast polycaprolactone and polylactic acid films. The polymer microgrooves were successfully fabricated and were able to be formed into tubular nerve guidance conduits. The surface morphology, roughness, wettability, and thermal properties of the films were characterised. The microgroove topography improved proliferation and induced alignment of SH-SY5Y cells. This facile 3D printing approach is promising for the fabrication of nerve guidance conduits with topographical guidance cues as it obviates the need for using photolithographic techniques. Thus, this approach provides an alternative that is simpler, faster, cheaper, and offers greater design freedom.

Keywords
Bioprinting
Microgroove
Moulds
Nerve guidance conduit
Peripheral nerve repair
Stereolithography
Funding
This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK) Doctoral Prize Fellowship (EP/R513131/1) and the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, funded through EPSRC grants EP/R00661X/1, EP/S019367/1, EP/P025021/1, and EP/ P025498/1.
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Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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