Mr. Ehud Shimko Gozlan - M.Sc. Candidate
24/09/2026
אודיטוריום ע"ש דויד וואנג, בניין מידן, קומה 3
13:30
Porous hydrogels combine high water content, viscoelasticity, and tunable physicochemical properties, making them attractive for tissue engineering and related applications. However, conventional particle-annealed scaffolds offer limited control over particle geometry and structural reproducibility, whereas directly designed 3D-printed scaffolds often require complex models to reproduce the disorder of biological tissues. Here, we present a computational design strategy that combines the geometric control of digital light processing (DLP) printing with the disordered architecture of granular scaffolds.
Digitally designed particles were arranged in 3D arrays, randomly rotated, and allowed to settle under gravity using a physics engine. Following jamming, particles in contact were computationally merged to generate continuous, printable scaffolds with interconnected porous architectures. This approach enables complex particle geometries to be incorporated into disordered scaffolds while providing control over pore morphology and connectivity.
The scaffolds were printed using two protein–polymer hybrid inks representing distinct network architectures. Bovine serum albumin–polyethylene glycol diacrylate (BSA–PEGDA) scaffolds exhibited enhanced stiffness attributed to covalent protein–polymer interactions. By contrast, gelatin–PEGDA formed semi-interpenetrating polymer networks that enabled post-printing modulation of scaffold mechanics through secondary treatments.
Imaging and mechanical characterization demonstrated that particle geometry governs scaffold pore architecture and mechanical properties. The resulting differences in pore morphology also influenced cell growth and spreading in culture. Together, these findings establish a material-independent strategy for fabricating disordered 3D-printed scaffolds with tunable properties, providing a versatile platform for tissue engineering and other applications requiring controlled porous architectures.