Page 170 - IJB-9-5

International Journal of Bioprinting Guide about the effects of sterilization on 3D-printed materials for medicine

and other agents on the final medical product to decide Funding
how we should treat them.
The research described in this paper was partially funded by
This paper can be used as a guide for future studies the project named QuirofAM (Exp. COMRDI16-1-0011)
and as a guide for doctors who are starting to use AM and funded by ACCIÓ from the Catalan government and
technologies as well as sterilization methods. There are ERDF from European Union.
several points that must be highlighted:
(1) The temperature (depending on the sterilization Conflict of interest
method) and the exposure time influence the The authors declare no conflict of interests.
mechanical behavior of materials. The higher the
temperature and the longer the exposure time, Author contributions
the higher the risk of the mechanical and geometrical Conceptualization: Arnau Valls-Esteve, Pamela Lustig-
properties to be affected and the bigger the changes Gainza, Aitor Tejo-Otero, Nuria Adell-Gomez
from its original form.
Investigation: All authors
(2) The 3D printing accuracy showed that AU134 and Methodology: Arnau Valls-Esteve, Pamela Lustig-Gainza,
AU121 methods have a greater influence on the samples Nuria Adell-Gomez, Aitor Tejo-Otero, Felip Fenollosa-
compared to HPO method. Therefore, HPO method is Artés, Estibaliz Julian-Alvarez, Osmeli Navarro-Sureda,
a better option, depending on the selected material. Josep Rubio-Palau, Lucas Krauel, Josep Munuera
(3) In general, hard liquid resin materials produced Formal analysis: Arnau Valls-Esteve, Aitor Tejo-Otero,
by MJ such as MED610, or produced by SLA such Felip Fenollosa-Artés, Josep Rubio-Palau, Lucas
as Surgical Guide resin, and powder polymeric Krauel, Josep Munuera
materials printed using SLS technology such as PA12 Writing – original draft: Arnau Valls-Esteve, Aitor Tejo-
have better behavior than thermoplastic materials Otero
produced by ME in heat-based sterilization Writing – review & editing: All authors
processes; therefore, it is a better option for the
production of surgical guides. Among these hard Ethics approval and consent to participate
liquid resin materials, MED610 and specially PA12 Not applicable.
are the strongest candidates.
(4) The selection of materials, technology, and Consent for publication
sterilization process to be used depends on the final Not applicable.
application and its own mechanical and dimensional
requirements. Availability of data
(5) The materials analyzed in this study can mostly Data can be available for readers upon reasonable request.
mimic hard tissues, owing to their comparable elastic
modulus. However, other materials such as silicones References
or hydrogels are needed for mimicking soft tissues.
1. ISO/ASTM, 2015, INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
For materials whose surface and geometry could be ISO / ASTM 52900 Additive manufacturing—General
potentially affected by the sterilization process, design principles—Terminology. Int Organ Stand.
and dimensions of the final parts may play a role in
manipulating the desired mechanical properties. For https://doi.org/10.1520/ISOASTM52900-15
standardization purposes, the analysis of the present study 2. M. T. P. MATTHEW FOX, 2016, 3-D printing: Revolutionizing
was based on the ISO tensile testing. Nevertheless, future preoperative planning, resident training, and the future of
work should be focused on the analysis of the impact of surgical care. Bull Am Coll Surg, 101(7):9–18.
the design and the sample dimensions of each material to https://bulletin.facs.org/2016/07/3-d-printing-
be subjected to a sterilization process. For future studies, revolutionizing-preoperative-planning-resident-training-
softer materials such as silicones or hydrogels could also be and-the-future-of-surgical-care/ (accessed Nov. 30, 2022).
included for analysis. 3. Krauel L, Fenollosa F, Riaza L, et al., 2016, Use of 3D
prototypes for complex surgical oncologic cases. World J
Acknowledgments Surg, 40(4): 889–894.
None. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-015-3295-y

Volume 9 Issue 5 (2023) 162 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.756