Engineered 3D-Printed Artificial Axons

Abstract

Materials and methods for cell-mimetics having mechanical properties of biological neural axons are provided. A cell-mimetic device includes an array of fibers comprised of hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) or an HDDA derivative, and at least one derivative of polyethylene glycol (PEG) selected from the group consisting of: PEG-acrylate, PEG-diacrylate, and any multi-arm PEG-acrylate.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cell-mimetic device comprising:
 a supporting fiber layer; and   a suspended fiber layer comprising fibers supported at a defined interval by fibers of the supporting fiber layer, each of the fibers of the suspended fiber layer having an unsupported, suspended length providing for a cell-mimetic structure.   
     
     
         2 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the unsupported, suspended length is of about 0.5 µm to about 1000 µm. 
     
     
         3 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the unsupported, suspended length is of about 10 µm to about 200 µm. 
     
     
         4 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers of the supporting fiber layer and the suspended fiber layer are disposed in an array. 
     
     
         5 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers of the suspended fiber layer have a stiffness of between about 0.1 and 200 kPa. 
     
     
         6 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers of the suspended fiber layer have diameters between about 0.1 µm to 20 µm. 
     
     
         7 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers of the suspended fiber layer are comprised of a material comprising:
 hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) or an HDDA derivative; and   at least one derivative of polyethylene glycol (PEG).   
     
     
         8 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one derivative of polyethylene glycol (PEG) is selected from the group consisting of PEG-acrylate, PEG-diacrylate, and a multi-arm PEG-acrylate. 
     
     
         9 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 7 , wherein the material comprises poly(HDDA-co-starPEG). 
     
     
         10 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers of the suspended fiber layer are comprised of a material comprising polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). 
     
     
         11 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers of the suspended fiber layer are comprised of a material comprising poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA). 
     
     
         12 . The cell-mimetic device of  claim 1 , wherein the fibers of the suspended fiber layer are modified by a surface ligand. 
     
     
         13 . A polymer ink comprising:
 a base comprising hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) or an HDDA derivative and at least one derivative of polyethylene glycol (PEG);   a curing agent; and   a light absorber.   
     
     
         14 . The polymer ink of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one derivative of polyethylene glycol (PEG) is selected from the group consisting of PEG-acrylate, PEG-diacrylate, and a multi-arm PEG-acrylate. 
     
     
         15 . The polymer ink of  claim 13 , wherein the polymer ink is configured to cure to a polymer material having a stiffness of between about 0.1 and 200 kPa. 
     
     
         16 . The polymer ink of  claim 13 , further comprising a solvent. 
     
     
         17 . The polymer ink of  claim 13 , wherein the polymer ink comprises about 10% w/w multi-arm PEG-acrylate and about 30% w/w HDDA. 
     
     
         18 . The polymer ink of  claim 13 , wherein the polymer ink comprises about 10% w/w multi-arm PEG-acrylate and about 10% w/w HDDA. 
     
     
         19 . A material formed from curing of the polymer ink of  claim 13 , the material comprising poly(HDDA-co-starPEG). 
     
     
         20 . A method of fabricating a cell-mimetic device comprising:
 masking a resin bath with a mask defining at least a portion of a three-dimensional cell mimetic structure, the resin bath comprising hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) or an HDDA derivative and at least one derivative of polyethylene glycol (PEG); and   exposing the masked resin bath to light, an exposed portion of the masked resin bath responsively curing to a material forming the cell-mimetic device.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the at least one derivative of polyethylene glycol (PEG) is selected from the group consisting of PEG-acrylate, PEG-diacrylate, and a multi-arm PEG-acrylate. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein masking the resin bath comprises masking the resin bath with a series of masks to define a structure of the cell-mimetic device. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein masking the resin bath comprises masking with a digitally-projected mask.