A Tubular Biomaterial Construct Exhibiting a Negative Poisson's Ratio

PLoS One. 2016 May 27;11(5):e0155681. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155681. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Developing functional small-diameter vascular grafts is an important objective in tissue engineering research. In this study, we address the problem of compliance mismatch by designing and developing a 3D tubular construct that has a negative Poisson's ratio νxy (NPR). NPR constructs have the unique ability to expand transversely when pulled axially, thereby resulting in a highly-compliant tubular construct. In this work, we used projection stereolithography to 3D-print a planar NPR sheet composed of photosensitive poly(ethylene) glycol diacrylate biomaterial. We used a step-lithography exposure and a stitch process to scale up the projection printing process, and used the cut-missing rib unit design to develop a centimeter-scale NPR sheet, which was rolled up to form a tubular construct. The constructs had Poisson's ratios of -0.6 ≤ νxy ≤ -0.1. The NPR construct also supports higher cellular adhesion than does the construct that has positive νxy. Our NPR design offers a significant advance in the development of highly-compliant vascular grafts.

MeSH terms

  • Biocompatible Materials / chemistry*
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Humans
  • Mechanical Phenomena
  • Optical Imaging
  • Poisson Distribution
  • Polyethylene Glycols / chemistry*
  • Printing, Three-Dimensional*

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate
  • Polyethylene Glycols