Solvent-Free, Degradable Resins for 3D Inkjet Printing Based on Silyl Ether and Amino Acid Phosphoramide Photomonomers

Abstract

Inkjet 3D printing is a fast, reliable and noncontact method, capable of producing small and large structures and enabling multi-material printing. These characteristics make inkjet an excellent printing technique for additive manufacturing of biomaterials, such as scaffolds for tissue engineering. However, the technology is restricted by the limited number of suitable photopolymers which hitherto are limited to acrylate-based chemistries, which are not only toxic but nondegradable, thus of limited use in many biomaterials-based applications. Herein, a unique and innovative approach is described looking beyond traditional carbon-based chemistry to design and synthesize novel photomonomers based on amino acid phosphoramides (APA) with silyl ethers utilizing thiol-yne click chemistry. The novel inks are specifically designed for use in solventless 3D inkjet printing of biomaterials and are shown to be biocompatible and having fast and tunable degradation rates. This makes these innovative inks a promising material for biomedical 3D printing applications, such as tissue regeneration.