Glass, electronics, chemicals, and ceramics manufacturerAGC Inc.has developed a biocompatible non-cytotoxic urethane acrylate oligomer that can be 3D printed into ultra-realistic patient-specific organ models.
With its new oligomer, AGC Inc. has managed to design a material that features a low storage modulus without using plasticizers. As a result, ‘U-FINE LD-301’ can be used as a basis for non-cytotoxic stereolithography (SLA) or Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printing resins that are less susceptible to dimensional instability or bleeding issues.
In practice, the firm expects its stretchable new material to be adopted among the medical community as a means of 3D printing incredibly lifelike, patient-specific anatomical models, with wide-ranging clinical training applications.
“We have designed this material specifically for organ modeling,” explains Nikhil Mishra, a Product Development Engineer at AGC Inc. “So, which of its properties lend themselves towards this application? It is biocompatible, ISO-10993:5 approved. It also has a low storage modulus, glass transition temperature and shrinkage rate.”
A new SLA/DLP resin base material
Though the additive manufacturing of patient-specific clinical models is by no means unheard of in the medical profession, and there are plenty of use cases to support this, the process still has its challenges. To improve their softness, many resins include plasticizers that impact both their biocompatibility and dimensional stability.
为了解决这些问题，AGC Inc.提出了一种新的材料配方，它通过专注于一些积分特性来使其无需增塑剂：弹性模量，玻璃过渡温度（TG），收缩率和粘度率。
The company chose to focus on developing a material with a tunable stiffness due to each organ’s differing elastic modulus. Soft organs like kidneys, hearts, and intestines, for instance, have an elastic modulus of around 10 ~ 40 kPa. In order to 3D print an accurate model, it’s therefore essential to have a resin that enables the creation of good interlayer joints and offers high dimensional stability.
AGC Inc.还发现，将树脂收缩和粘度降至最低，对于确保打印精度的同时降低任何脆性风险至关重要。结果，LD-301旨在产生低粘度，刚度和存储模量的树脂。
Targeting clinical model 3D printing
According to AGC Inc, LD-301’s novelty lies in its high molecular weight, as well as its mono functionality, low cross-linking and biocompatibility properties, which make it ideal for formulating biocompatible DLP and SLA resins. In fact, during ISO cytotoxicity testing, a cured version of the company’s material is said to have achieved higher than 70% cell viability, and it was found to have no significant impact on the formation of cell colonies.
In terms of elongation at break, cured LD-301 also demonstrated a high elongation of 380%. What’s more, oligomers tend to feature high viscosity, but due to the material’s unique molecular structure, which sees it incorporate monomers as diluents, it has lower viscosity, in a way that makes it a better-suited base for printable resins.
Together, AGC Inc. says these properties mean the oligomer is ideal for creating resins that can be turned into realistic anatomical models, with surgical education and planning applications. As the material has shown the capability to resist repeated compressions and return to its initial shape, it’s believed that LD-301 could be used for insoles as well, though it’s primarily being marketed as a medical modeling tool.
Those interested in finding out more about the material or placing an order cancontact AGC Inc. directly for a quote。
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特色图像显示了U-Fine LD-301印刷的一组原型解剖模型和晶格零件3D。图片通过AGC Inc.
