3D printing of gel networks
AssigneeOxford University Innovation Limited
InventorsJohn Hagan Pryce Bayley, Shaohua Ma
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides a process for producing a gel network, which gel network comprises a plurality of joined gel objects, which process comprises: forming a plurality of gel objects in one or more microfluidic channels; dispensing the gel objects from the one or more microfluidic channels into a region for producing the network; and contacting each gel object with at least one other gel object in said region to join each gel object to at least one other gel object at a region of contact between the gel objects. The invention also provides a network of joined gel objects, comprising a plurality of gel objects, wherein each gel object is joined to an adjacent gel object at a region of contact between the gel objects. Also provided are various possible uses of the gel network.
Claims16
A process for producing a gel network, which gel network comprises a plurality of joined gel objects, which process comprises:
- forming a plurality of incompletely-gelled gel objects in one or more microfluidic channels by;
- (a) providing a gel precursor material capable of undergoing a temperature-controlled sol-gel transition at a sol-gel transition temperature,
- (b) maintaining the gel precursor material at a first temperature above the sol-gel transition temperature,
- (c) introducing the gel precursor material into the one or more one or more microfluidic channels, and
- (d) maintaining at least a part of the one or more microfluidic channels at a second temperature, which second temperature is below the sol-gel transition temperature;
- dispensing the incompletely-gelled gel objects from the one or more microfluidic channels into a region for producing the network;
- and
- contacting each incompletely-gelled gel object with at least one other incompletely-gelled gel object in said region to join each gel object to at least one other gel object at a region of contact between the gel objects,
- wherein contacting each incompletely-gelled gel object with at least one other incompletely-gelled gel object causes each incompletely-gelled gel object to fuse with at least one other incompletely-gelled gel object at a region of contact between the gel objects wherein gelling occurs at the region of fusion to form a gel bond between the gel objects.
A process for producing a gel network, which gel network comprises a plurality of joined gel objects, which process comprises:
- forming a plurality of incompletely-gelled gel objects in one or more microfluidic channels by
- (a) providing a gel precursor material capable of undergoing a temperature-controlled sol-gel transition at a sol-gel transition temperature,
- (b) maintaining the gel precursor material at a first temperature below the sol-gel transition temperature,
- (c) introducing the gel precursor material into the one or more one or more microfluidic channels, and
- (c) maintaining at least a part of the one or more microfluidic channels at a second temperature, which second temperature is above the sol-gel transition temperature;
- dispensing the incompletely-gelled gel objects from the one or more microfluidic channels into a region for producing the network;
- and
- contacting each incompletely-gelled gel object with at least one other incompletely-gelled gel object in said region to join each gel object to at least one other gel object at a region of contact between the gel objects,
- wherein contacting each incompletely-gelled gel object with at least one other incompletely-gelled gel object causes each incompletely-gelled gel object to fuse with at least one other incompletely-gelled gel object at a region of contact between the gel objects wherein gelling occurs at the region of fusion to form a gel bond between the gel objects.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.