Page 153 - IJB-9-5

International Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
A state-of-the-art guide about the effects of

sterilization processes on 3D-printed materials
for surgical planning and medical applications:

A comparative study

Arnau Valls-Esteve 1,2,3 *, Pamela Lustig-Gainza , Nuria Adell-Gomez ,
1,3
4
Aitor Tejo-Otero , Marti Englí-Rueda , Estibaliz Julian-Alvarez ,
5
1,3
4
Osmeli Navarro-Sureda , Felip Fenollosa-Artés , Josep Rubio-Palau 2,3,7,8 ,
4,6
5
Lucas Krauel 2,3,7 , Josep Munuera 2,3,9
1 Innovation Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
2 Medicina i Recerca Translacional, Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat de
Barcelona, Spain
3 3D for Health Unit (3D4H), Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
4 Centre CIM, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (CIM UPC), Barcelona, Spain
5 Sterilization Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
6 Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering of Barcelona (ETSEIB), Universitat
Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
7 Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
8 Maxillofacial Unit, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de
Barcelona, Spain
9 Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Biofabrication: The future of Medicine)
*Corresponding author:
Arnau Valls-Esteve
(arnau.valls@sjd.es)
Abstract
Citation: Valls-Esteve A,
Lustig-Gainza P, Adell-Gomez N, Surgeons use different medical devices in the surgery, such as patient-specific
et al., 2023, A state-of-the-art guide anatomical models, cutting and positioning guides, or implants. These devices must
about the effects of sterilization
processes on 3D-printed materials be sterilized before being used in the operation room. There are many sterilization
for surgical planning and medical processes available, with autoclave, hydrogen peroxide, and ethylene oxide being
applications: A comparative study. the most common in hospital settings. Each method has both advantages and
Int J Bioprint, 9(5): 756.
https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.756 disadvantages in terms of mechanics, chemical interaction, and post-treatment
accuracy. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the dimensional and mechanical
Received: January 03, 2023
Accepted: March 01, 2023 effect of the most commonly used sterilization techniques available in clinical settings,
Published Online: May 17, 2023 i.e., Autoclave 121, Autoclave 134, and hydrogen peroxide (HPO), on 11 of the most
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). used 3D-printed materials fabricated using additive manufacturing technologies.
This is an Open Access article The results showed that the temperature (depending on the sterilization method)
distributed under the terms of the and the exposure time to that temperature influence not only the mechanical
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, behavior but also the original dimensioning planned on the 3D model. Therefore,
and reproduction in any medium, HPO is a better overall option for most of the materials evaluated. Finally, based
provided the original work is on the results of the study, a recommendation guide on sterilization methods per
properly cited.
material, technology, and clinical application is presented.
Publisher’s Note: Whioce
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in Keywords: Additive manufacturing; Sterilization; Materials; Surgical planning;
published maps and institutional 3D printing accuracy
affiliations.

Volume 9 Issue 5 (2023) 145 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.756