Development of dynamic masking rapid prototyping system for application in tissue engineering

Purpose - In order to manufacture scaffolds for tissue engineering, a dynamic mask rapid prototyping system to cure UV-curable biodegradable material was developed. The aim of this paper is to document this system. Design/methodology/approach - A digital micro-mirror device (DMD) was used as the dynamic mask generator, with each layer's mask pattern dictated by our self-developed software. To build the scaffolds, UV light reflected by the DMD was then focused onto the biodegradable material to cure it. The biodegradable material used in this experiment was a mixture of 85/15 PLGA, PEG-HEMA, and a photo-initiator. Findings - The dynamic mask rapid prototyping system was successfully built and scaffolds made of UV-curable biodegradable material were fabricated to verify the system capacity. The working exposure time for each layer was 45 s except for the first layer, which was 60 s. Scaffolds with 0 degrees/90 degrees and 60 degrees/120 degrees strips in alternating layers were fabricated and the pore size error in X and Y axes of 0 degrees/90 degrees design was found to be 7.33 and 2.13 percent, respectively. Preliminary cell culture tests indicate the fabricated scaffold is not harmful to MG-63 cell growth. Research limitations/implications - Different scaffold designs and more UV-curable biodegradable materials may be further implemented and tested through this system. Originality/value - This research developed a novel system for tissue engineering scaffold fabrication which can process UV-curable biodegradable material.