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

    Year: 2022

    Journal: ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, Volume 14, APR 19, page 19253–19264

    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

    Organizations: 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 printe [2017FWC3WC]; CrossLab Additive Manufacturing of the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Pisa; Laserlab-Europe [H2020 EC-GA 654148]; 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

    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.
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