Melt Electrowriting of Poly(dioxanone) Filament Using a Multi‐Axis Robot

Abstract

Abstract Excessive thermal degradation is one limitation of scaffold production by melt electrowriting (MEW). This is particularly pertinent when using higher melting point polymers with faster degradation profiles in vivo for tissue engineering applications. This is addressed here by switching from a pneumatic to a filament‐based feeding system and demonstrating the processing of a medical polymer, poly(dioxanone) (PDO). Additionally, by replacing the established cartesian printer configuration with a six‐axis robotic arm, arbitrary nonplanar surfaces can be used as a fiber collector, as shown here by using a spherical collector. The combination of these techniques allows MEW to be used more broadly in tissue engineering where currently established medical polymers are incompatible with the process, or the geometric shapes of scaffold are to be expanded. It demonstrates the required technology to produce nonplanar scaffolds of PDO in a dome shape with dimensions for a biodegradable corneal implant.