| Description |
During stereolithographic 3D printing, curing of the resins takes place through a chemical reaction between monomers typically employing the mechanism of photopolymerization. Nowadays, stereolithography can be applied also for the printing of biocompatible hydrogels as advanced functional materials that provide an excellent environment for cell culture or serve as implant materials. In such applications, the 3D structure of gels must be precisely achieved, for example, must comprise connected gel domains interwoven with communicating channels while maintaining the mechanical integrity of the gel. The goal of the project is to study the mechanism of polymer network formation during the printing process and its peculiarities, study new monomers suitable for printing including monomers from natural sources and use the acquired knowledge to expand the stereolithographic 3D printing on the precise fabrication of hydrogels with suitable swelling and mechanical properties. New printing resins for hydrogels will be developed, evaluated, and used to make macroporous substrates suitable for cell cultivation. The candidate should have passed subjects in the areas of materials or macromolecular or organic chemistry. |
