Micro-fabrication of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds by photon and self-organization

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The possibility to replace damaged or diseased organs with artificial tissues engineered from a combination of living cells and biocompatible patterned-scaffolds is becoming a reality through multidisciplinary efforts^1. Compared with light or electron beam lithography and bottom-up technologies using the self organization^2, the virtue of two-photon polymerization^3 as a tool for making microdevices lies in its three dimensional capability, which has found application in photonic devices and micromachines with feature sizes close to diffraction limit. The present studies describe the preparation of biocompatible patterned surfaces by two photon polymerization. Newly synthesized poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate)^4 copolymers, which have biocompatibility and potocrosslinking moiety, as well as photo-initiators:trans-4-(P-(N-ethyl-N hydroxylethylamino)styryl)-N-methylpyridium-tetraphenyl borate, is transparent to an ultrashort-pulsed beam from a Ti:sapphire mode-locked laser (750-800nm, 8OMHz, 100fs) and allows it to penetrate deeply. The polymer can be poto-polymerized by using two-photon adsorption. After the pattern is completed, unreacted polymer is washed away with an metylethylketone. The fabrication parameters affecting the spatial resolution are investigated. The resolution can be controlled in the range from sub-μm to 5-μm by changing the laser-pulse energy (laser power), exposure time, polymer type, excitation wavelength, and scanning speeds. The biocompatible micro-patterned surfaces could be used for various medical devices, eg, implants, biosensor chip and cell-supported scaffolds.