Three-Dimensional Printing of Bisphenol A-Free Polycarbonates

Wei Zhu, Sang Hyun Pyo, Pengrui Wang, Shangting You, Claire Yu, Jeffrey Alido, Justin Liu, Yew Leong, Shaochen Chen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Polycarbonates are widely used in food packages, drink bottles, and various healthcare products such as dental sealants and tooth coatings. However, bisphenol A (BPA) and phosgene used in the production of commercial polycarbonates pose major concerns to public health safety. Here, we report a green pathway to prepare BPA-free polycarbonates (BFPs) by thermal ring-opening polymerization and photopolymerization. Polycarbonates prepared from two cyclic carbonates in different mole ratios demonstrated tunable mechanical stiffness, excellent thermal stability, and high optical transparency. Three-dimensional (3D) printing of the new BFPs was demonstrated using a two-photon laser direct writing system and a rapid 3D optical projection printer to produce structures possessing complex high-resolution geometries. Seeded C3H10T1/2 cells also showed over 95% viability with potential applications in biological studies. By combining biocompatible BFPs with 3D printing, novel safe and high-performance biomedical devices and healthcare products could be developed with broad long-term benefits to society.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)5331-5339
    Number of pages9
    JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
    Volume10
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2018 Feb 14

    Subject classification (UKÄ)

    • Medical Materials (including Prosthesis technologies)

    Free keywords

    • 3D printing
    • biomedical devices
    • bisphenol A-free polycarbonate
    • BPA
    • continuous 3D projection printing
    • healthcare products
    • photopolymerization
    • two-photon laser direct writing

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