Tissue regeneration using in-vitro scaffold becomes a vital mean to mimic the in-vivo counterpart due to the insufficiency of animal models to predict the applicability of drug and other physiological behavior. Three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing is an emerging technology to reproduce living tissue through controlled allocation of biomaterial and cell. Due to its bio-compatibility, natural hydrogels are commonly considered as the scaffold material in bio-printing process. However, repeatable scaffold structure with good printability and shape fidelity is a challenge with hydrogel material due to weak bonding in polymer chain. Additionally, there are intrinsic limitations for bio-printing of hydrogels due to limited cell proliferation and colonization while cells are immobilized within hydrogels and don’t spread, stretch and migrate to generate new tissue. The goal of this research is to develop a bio-ink suitable for extrusion-based bio-printing process to construct 3D scaffold. In this research, a novel hybrid hydrogel, is designed and systematic quantitative characterization are conducted to validate its printability, shape fidelity and cell viability. The outcomes are measured and quantified which demonstrate the favorable printability and shape fidelity of our proposed material. The research focuses on factors associated with pre-printing, printing and post-printing behavior of bio-ink and their biology. With the proposed hybrid hydrogel, 2 cm tall acellular 3D scaffold is fabricated with proper shape fidelity. Cell viability of the proposed material are tested with multiple cell lines i.e. BxPC3, prostate stem cancer cell, HEK 293, and Porc1 cell and about 90% viability after 15-day incubation have been achieved. The designed hybrid hydrogel demonstrate excellent behavior as bio-ink for bio-printing process which can reproduce scaffold with proper printability, shape fidelity and higher cell survivability. Additionally, the outlined characterization techniques proposed here open-up a novel avenue for quantifiable bio-ink assessment framework in lieu of their qualitative evaluation.

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<p>Inkjet is a digital printing process where the ink is ejected directly onto a substrate from a jet device driven by an electronic signal. Most inkjet inks have a low viscosity and a low surface tension, which put high demands on the coating layer’s porosity and absorbency characteristics.</p><p>The aim of this study has been to gain an increased knowledge of the mechanisms that control the sorption and fixation of inkjet inks on coated papers. The focus has been on printability aspects of high print quality (although not photographic quality) laboratory-coated inkjet papers for printers using aqueous-based inks.</p><p>Papers coated solely with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and starch presented excellent gamut values and good print sharpness over the uncoated substrate, due to good film-forming characteristics observed by light microscopy and ESCA. ESEM analyses showed the complexity and variation of PVOH surface structures, which has probably explained the wide scatter in the colour-to-colour bleed results. Pure PVOH coatings also gave a surface with high gloss variations (2-8 times greater than that of commercial inkjet papers), prolonged ink drying time, and cracked prints when using pigmented inks. When an amorphous silica gel pigment (with broad pore size distribution) was used in combination with binder, a new structure was formed with large pores in and between the pigments and a macro-roughness generated by the large particles. The inkjet ink droplets could quickly penetrate into the large pores and the time for surface wicking was reduced, which was beneficial for the blurriness. However, the macro-roughness promoted bulk spreading in the coarse surface structure, and this tended to increase the line width. Finally, when the ink ends up within the coating, the colorant is partly shielded by the particles, and this reduced the gamut area to some extent. The binder demand of the silica pigments was strongly related to their pore size distributions. Silica gel required two to three times the amount of binder compared to novel surfactant-templated mesoporous silica pigments (with small pores and narrow pore size distribution). This finding was attributed to the significant penetration of PVOH binder into the pores in the silica gel, thereby, increasing its binder demand. Furthermore, this binder penetration reduced the effective internal pore volume available for rapid drainage of the ink vehicle. Consequently, the surfactant-templated pigments required significantly lower amounts of binder, and gave improvements in print quality relative to the commercial pigment.</p>

Inkjet is a digital printing process where the ink is ejected directly onto a substrate from a jet device driven by an electronic signal. Most inkjet inks have a low viscosity and a low surface tension, which put high demands on the coating layer’s porosity and absorbency characteristics. The aim of this study has been to gain an increased knowledge of the mechanisms that control the sorption and fixation of inkjet inks on coated papers. The focus has been on printability aspects of high print quality (although not photographic quality) laboratory-coated inkjet papers for printers using aqueous-based inks. Papers coated solely with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and starch presented excellent gamut values and good print sharpness over the uncoated substrate, due to good film-forming characteristics observed by light microscopy and ESCA. ESEM analyses showed the complexity and variation of PVOH surface structures, which has probably explained the wide scatter in the colour-to-colour bleed results. Pure PVOH coatings also gave a surface with high gloss variations (2-8 times greater than that of commercial inkjet papers), prolonged ink drying time, and cracked prints when using pigmented inks. When an amorphous silica gel pigment (with broad pore size distribution) was used in combination with binder, a new structure was formed with large pores in and between the pigments and a macro-roughness generated by the large particles. The inkjet ink droplets could quickly penetrate into the large pores and the time for surface wicking was reduced, which was beneficial for the blurriness. However, the macro-roughness promoted bulk spreading in the coarse surface structure, and this tended to increase the line width. Finally, when the ink ends up within the coating, the colorant is partly shielded by the particles, and this reduced the gamut area to some extent. The binder demand of the silica pigments was strongly related to their pore size distributions. Silica gel required two to three times the amount of binder compared to novel surfactant-templated mesoporous silica pigments (with small pores and narrow pore size distribution). This finding was attributed to the significant penetration of PVOH binder into the pores in the silica gel, thereby, increasing its binder demand. Furthermore, this binder penetration reduced the effective internal pore volume available for rapid drainage of the ink vehicle. Consequently, the surfactant-templated pigments required significantly lower amounts of binder, and gave improvements in print quality relative to the commercial pigment.

Papers are coated in order to improve the properties of the surface, to improve printability and to include new functionalities like barriers properties. Typical coating formulation contains a high number of components, some are made from minerals and others are manufactured from petroleum. The barrier properties of today's paper based packages are plastics and/or aluminum             foil. Environmentally friendly substitutie of these nonrenewable materials are needed.  Nanocellulose is a promising material                 and of a growing interest as an alternative to petroleum-based materials, since nanocellulose films/coatings have been shown to have excellent mechanical and barrier properties.   This project aimed to evaluate nanocellulose in combination with minerals in paper coatings. The project had two approaches. One was to evaluate the barrier properties of MFC coatings with mineral included. The second part was about coatings for           printing matters, and evaluation of the possibility to replace petroleum-based binders in the coating color with MFC. Barrier properties were evaluated by measuring the air permeability of the coatings. The properties of the coating affecting the         printability in offset printing examined was the surface energy, the gloss, the roughness of the coatings, the strength and the offset ink setting.   Carboxymethylated nanocellulose formed denser films and had superior barrier properties compared with enzymatically pretreated nanocellulose. Adding of minerals did not affect the barrier properties of the MFC coatings to a significant extent.         Therefore, minerals cannot be added to enhance the barrier but it can be added to reduce the cost of the coating process without losing any barrier properties.                                 The print quality depends on how the ink interacts with the coating. These coatings did have a relatively high surface energy, which is preferable for printing with waterborne ink. It was also shown that the absorption abilities increased when the amount of MFC was increased. However, offset printing demands high surface strength and addition of MFC in the coating color                     drastically decreased the strength. This means that the coatings produced in this work are not strong enough and thereby not           suitable for offset printing. However other printing technologies put lower demand on surface strength and are still possible.

No description available.

Inkjet printing is a versatile manufacturing method with applications beyond its traditional application in graphics and text printing, particularly in structural and functional materials. This thesis aims to enhance the understanding of DOD inkjet printing processes by investigating the behaviour of solvent mixtures and nanoparticle suspensions to identify the key parameters affecting drop ejection, drying and stacking processes. Drop ejection and flight were investigated with two modes of inkjet printheads, using a range of fluids formulated from solvent mixtures and characterised by the dimensionless Z number. The printable range was found to be 1.17 smaller or equal to Z smaller or equal to 36.76 for a 10 pl (21.5 micro metre diameter) shear-mode Dimatix printhead. However, with an 80 micro metre diameter squeeze-mode MicroFab printhead, the range was found to be narrower with 4.02 smaller or equal to Z smaller or equal to 16.2. However, both printheads were found to show a printable range of Weber number with 0.4 &lt;We &lt;20. Weber number is determined by the drop velocity and hence the actuating pulse. When designing inks for future printing work, not only the fluid properties, but also the pulse voltages need to be considered. The drop stacking and solidification processes of drops containing nano ZrO2 particles were investigated to enhance the understanding of drop drying and drop/drop interactions. In-situ synchrotron X-ray radiography provides a promising method to track the time-evolved solid segregation within printed drops during drying. Both the initial contact angle and substrate temperature during printing strongly influence the drying process and the final dried deposit shape. The drops were first pinned and then there was a slight sliding of the three-phase contact line. Drops were deformed by the stacking of overprinted drops when printed on Kapton tapes and silicon wafer surfaces, but not on glass slides due to the small contact angle of water on glass slides. Crack-like defects were found at the edge of the final dried stacking structures. The coffee stain effects within a single inkjet printed droplet and the 3D structures before and after sintering were investigated to find out the influence of ink properties, printing parameters and substrate temperature on inkjet printed structures. It was found coffee staining was more obvious at high substrate temperatures. When adding 25 vol% ethylene glycol (EG) or 5 wt% polyethylene glycol (PEG), the coffee stain effect is reduced or eliminated under room temperature drying. X-ray tomography has been demonstrated as a valuable tool for the characterization of 3D printed objects and defects that form during their manufacture. Defects were characterised as microvoids or large-scale crack-like defects. The majority of the microvoids revealed are associated with mechanisms and processes within a single drop, e.g. segregation during dryings such as the formation of coffee stains or coffee rings. The size or distribution of microvoids can be controlled by changing the ink formulation, with higher PEG content inks showing lower concentrations of microvoids.

Les piles à combustibles sont une alternative à l’utilisation de ressources fossiles. Cependant, l’énergie qu’elles produisent reste chère et les procédés de fabrication actuels ne sont pas adaptés à des productions à grande échelle. Une piles de type PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) essont un système constitué de cinq couches dans lequel la membrane et les deux couches de diffusion peuvent être considértestées comme support d’impression et les deux couches actives peuvent être imprimées par des procédés continus.Ce travail démontrea la pertinence du procédé d’impression appelé flexographiquee dans la fabrication de composants de PEMFC. La flexographieCe procédé offre permet de produire de grandes surfaces de production avec peu de perte de matière fonctionnelle. Malgré la faible imprimabilité des supports choisis, elle permit la fabrication des couches actives aux performances similaires à celles fabriquéesites par procédés conventionnels ont pu être réalisées grâce à la flexogaphie. / In a context of fossil fuel shortage and hydrocarbon emission reduction, fuel cells are a promising solution for energy production. However, the cost of the energy they produce remains too expensive to be competitive and the conventional manufacturing processes used limit the scaling up of the production. The core of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) is a stack composed of five constituents, in which the proton exchange membrane and the two gas diffusion layers have potential for being can be considered as used a a printing substrates, and the two catalyst layers can be printed by continuous printing processes.This work demonstrated the relevance of the printing process called flexography for manufacturing fuel cell components. It offers allows larger production with low waste of expensive elements. Despite of the poor printability of the both chosen substrates, the achieved catalyst layers printed by flexography reached similar electrochemical properties than those made by conventional processes.

Les biopiles enzymatiques, capables de convertir le glucose présent dans le fluide physiologique en électricité, sont une source d’alimentation pour les dispositifs implantables. Cependant, les faibles puissances délivrées ne permettent pas d’alimenter actuellement des organes artificiels implantables. Une nouvelle architecture de biocathode tirant profit des technologies d’impression a été testée en vue d’améliorer les performances des Biopiles implantables. Ce travail démontre la pertinence des procédés d’impression tels que le spray ultrasonique et l’héliogravure dans l’élaboration de biocathodes homogènes, fines et flexibles. Ainsi, des encres fonctionnelles, dont la formulation à base de nanotubes de carbone et de surfactant a été optimisée, ont pu être déposées sur un substrat flexible hydrophobe (feuilles de carbone). Les problèmes d’imprimabilité du substrat ont été surmontés et des couches actives flexibles ont été obtenues (épaisseur entre 5 et 10 µm). Enfin, une technique d’immobilisation non-covalente des laccases (via le pyrène adamantane) a été testée et un courant catalytique de l’ordre de 130 mA.cm-2 a été obtenu. / Enzymatic Biofuel Cells, capable of converting efficiently the glucose from extracellular fluid into electrical energy, are a power source for implantable devices. However, the power output generated by these cells is not sufficient to fulfill the energy required by implantable artificial organs. Therefore, a new packaging architecture design based on flexible materials derived from printing technologies has been explored in order to enhance the power output of this cell. This work demonstrates the relevance of printing processes such as ultrasonic spray and gravure to develop homogeneous, thin and flexible biocathodes. During this work, a carbon nanotubes / surfactant suspensions were deposited on a hydrophobic flexible substrate (carbon paper). Despite the poor printability of the substrate, flexible active layers were obtained (thickness between 5 and 10 µm). Finally, a non-covalent immobilization of laccases (via adamantane pyrene) was tested and a catalytic current of approximately 130 µA.cm-2 was obtained. mA.cm-2 was obtained.

No description available.