Fourth Lecture — Online

Picture of Maria Asplund

Distinguished Professor Dietmar W. Hutmacher
ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Additive Biomanufacturing, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia

“Melt Electro Writing Biomimetic Fibre Network Architectures – Convergence of Natures Design Principles into Tissue Engineering and Soft Robotics”

Soft network composites have always been nature’s one of the primary materials of choice in building a large variety of multi-functional structures. In the case of soft biological materials, fibre networks designs in the form of polymers reinforced with a architecture of various fibres (e.g., fibrin, collagen, elastin, etc.) are frequently observed. The network of these fibres function as the promoters of mechanical strength and structural integrity as well as affects the biomechanics under movement of these systems.

The lecture focuses on a strategy for translating nature’s fibre-reinforcement design principles into 3D printing at multiple length scales fibre network architectures. I demonstrate case studies how the design of biomimetic fibre networks can be built into soft network composite tissue engineering (cartilage, heart valves) and soft robotics (actuators) applications.

Introduction by Principal Investigator Prof. Dr. Christopher Barner-Kowollik (Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT))