Design and Development of a Novel Frozen-Form Additive Manufacturing System for Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

High-quality scaffolds play a vital role in tissue engineering. The frozen-form method (FFM) (also known as low-temperature deposition manufacturing) can be used to fabricate scaffolds from biomedical polymers. These scaffolds may have both macroporous and microporous characteristics and may incorporate bioactive compounds or biomolecules during the process. In addition, scaffolds produced at low temperatures can prevent the occurrence of thermal hydrolysis, thereby improving the mechanical properties of scaffolds. In fabricating high-quality (without deformation and collapse) bioscaffolds through the FFM, the most crucial requirement is the creation of a uniform low-temperature environment. This study developed a frozen-form additive manufacturing system that includes a uniform cryogenic device to generate the uniform distribution of a low-temperature environment over a local region to produce large scaffolds that will not deform and collapse. A large square scaffold block and a high aspect ratio tubular scaffold were fabricated to verify the efficiency of this system. Furthermore, this study employed a selective compliance assembly robot arm to traverse two-dimensional deposition paths, unlike the conventional Cartesian gantry system. This study investigated the challenges stemming from the use of such a device for scaffold production and suggests methods for resolving such issues.