3D Printing Silk-Based Bioresorbable Piezoelectric Self-Adhesive Holey Structures for in Vivo Monitoring on Soft Tissues

Year: 2022

Authors: Chiesa Irene; De Maria Carmelo; Ceccarini Maria Rachele; Mussolin Lorenzo; Coletta Riccardo; Morabito Antonino; Tonin Rodolfo; Calamai Martino; Morrone Amelia; Beccari Tommaso; Valentini Luca

Autors Affiliation: Univ Pisa, Dept Ingn Informaz, I-56122 Pisa, Italy; Univ Pisa, Res Ctr E Piaggio, I-56122 Pisa, Italy; Univ Perugia, Dept Pharmaceut Sci, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; Univ Perugia, Dept Phys & Geol, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; Meyer Childrens Hosp, Dept Pediat Surg, I-50139 Florence, Italy; Univ Firenze, Dipartimento Neurosci Psicol Area Farmaco & Salut, I-50121 Florence, Italy; Meyer Childrens Hosp, Neurosci Dept, Paediat Neurol Unit & Labs, Mol & Cell Biol Lab, I-50121 Florence, Italy; Univ Florence, European Lab Nonlinear Spect LENS, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Natl Inst Opt Natl Res Council CNR INO, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Perugia, Civil & Environm Engn Dept, I-05100 Terni, Italy; Italian Consortium Sci & Technol Mat INSTM, I-50121 Florence, Italy.

Abstract: Flexible and biocompatible adhesives with sensing capabilities can be integrated onto human body and organ surfaces, characterized by complex geometries, thus having the potential to sense their physiological stimuli offering monitoring and diagnosis of a wide spectrum of diseases. The challenges in this innovative field are the following: (i) the coupling method between the smart adhesive and the soft human substrates, (ii) the bioresorbable behavior of the material, and (iii) the electrical exchange with the substrate. Here, we introduce a multifunctional composite by mixing silk fibroin, featuring piezoelectric properties, with a soluble plant-derived polyphenol (i.e., chestnut tannin) modified with graphene nanoplatelets. This material behaves as a glue on different substrates and gives rise to high elongation at break, conformability, and adhesive performances to gastrointestinal tissues in a rat model and favors the printability via extrusion-based 3D printing. Exploiting these properties, we designed a bioresorbable 3D printed flexible and self-adhesive piezoelectric device that senses the motility once applied onto a phantom intestine and the hand gesture by signal translation. Experimental results also include the biocompatibility study using gastrointestinal cells. These findings could have applicability in animal model studies, and, thanks to the bioresorbable behavior of the materials, such an adhesive device could be used for monitoring the motility of the gastrointestinal tract and for the diagnosis of motility disorders.

Journal/Review: ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES

Volume: 14 (17)      Pages from: 19253  to: 19264

More Information: L.V., I.C., and C.D.M. received funding from the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) under PRIN Project “Development and promotion of the levulinic acid and carboxylate platforms by the formulation of novel and advanced PHA-based biomaterials and their exploitation for 3D printed green-electronics applications” grant 2017FWC3WC. I.C. and C.D.M. acknowledge the support of the CrossLab Additive Manufacturing of the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Pisa. Prof. Gianluca Tondi, Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padua, is kindly acknowledged for supplying chestnut tannin. Dr. Elisa Mussi of the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Firenze, is kindly acknowledged for the fabrication of the phantom intestine. M.C. acknowledges funding from Laserlab-Europe, H2020 EC-GA 654148. L.V. and L. M. received funding from Fondazione Carit (Carit Foundation 2020) under the project “New functional materials for self-diagnostics of components in extreme and fatiguing environments”.
KeyWords: regenerated silk; graphene; tannins; 3D printing; finite element models; self-adhesive piezoelectric 3D printed sensors
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c04078

Citations: 18
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