Lead University: Lehigh University
PI: Lesley Chow
Co-PIs: Raymond Pearson
Native tissues in the body exhibit structure-function relationships where the specific structure and arrangement of components is closely linked to biological function. Biomaterials designed to guide the regeneration of tissues and organs must recapitulate this hierarchical organization to enable clinical translation of the engineered tissue replacements to significantly impact healthcare technologies. Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, techniques offer the ability to generate complex architectures with high spatial resolution. The objective of this project is to develop strategies that exploit 3D printing methods to combine multiple biodegradable polymers to create multifunctional biomaterials with anisotropic, tissue-like properties. Our team of Lehigh professors and students with expertise in advanced 3D printing techniques and polymer characterization will collaborate with polymer experts at Polysciences to optimize 3D printing conditions for a range of Polysciences' biodegradable polymers. The results will be used to tailor the structure and properties of multifunctional biomaterials for tissue engineering applications.