IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,622,970
Granted Patent B2
US 12,622,970 · App. 17/738,736 · Granted May 12, 2026

Photocurable reinforcement of 3D printed hydrogel objects

Inventors: Mora Carolynne Melican (Weston, MA); Lara Murcin (Stratham, NH); Barbara Nsiah (Manchester, NH); Richmon Lin (Silver Spring, MD); Derek Morris (Bedford, NH); Lina Trigg (Silver Spring, MD); Luis Alvarez (Lexington, MA); Mohammadali Safavieh (Nashua, NH); Masoud Modaresifar (Manchester, NH); Kalyan Vydiam (Manchester, NH); Aman Kaur (Manchester, NH)
Assignee: Lung Biotechnology PBC
A61K47/32A61L27/52A61P9/10B29C64/112B29C64/264B33Y10/00B33Y70/10B33Y80/00B29K2105/0061B29K2105/206B29K2995/0056B29L2031/7532
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,622,970
App. No.
17/738,736
Granted
May 12, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure provides reinforced hydrogel structures, methods of reinforcing hydrogel structures, and methods of treating ischemic disorders using the reinforced hydrogel structures.

Claims (16)

1 . A method of preparing a reinforced structure, comprising contacting a mesh immersed in an uncured photocurable bioink with a first hollow tube, an outer wall of the hollow tube being continuous, and irradiating the mesh immersed in the uncured photocurable bioink in contact with the hollow tube, thereby adhering the mesh to the hollow tube via a hydrogel formed from the photocurable bioink to form a tube reinforced by the mesh.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mesh has a thickness of about 0.1 μm to about 2 mm.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mesh spirals around a sublength of the hollow tube.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contacting comprises contacting an outside surface of the hollow tube with the mesh.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contacting and the irradiating are repeated more than once to form two or more layers of the mesh.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the two or more layers are stacked.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the photocurable ink comprises a photoinitiator and/or dye that reacts and/or absorbs light with a wavelength of about 100 to about 400 nm.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reinforced tube has a burst pressure of 1,000 mmHg or greater.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contacting comprises suturing the reinforced tube to a second hollow tube.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the reinforced tube has a suture pullout force of a site of the suturing 2.5 times to 15 times greater than a non-reinforced hollow tube.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the reinforced tube has a suture retention of 1.5 N or greater.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first hollow tube comprises a first subtube, a second subtube and a joint connecting the first subtube and the second subtube, wherein the contacting comprises contacting the mesh with the joint of the first hollow tube.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contacting comprises contacting the hollow tube with the mesh at a sublength constituting from 0.1% to 50% of the hollow tube.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the sublength is from 1 mm to 2.5 cm.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reinforced tube is a vascular graft.

16 . A method of treating ischemic disease in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising implanting the reinforced tube produced by the method of claim 1 .

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 16, 2022
From: MELICAN, MORA CAROLYNNE; MURCIN, LARA; NSIAH, BARBARA; LIN, RICHMON; MORRIS, DEREK; TRIGG, LINA; ALVAREZ, LUIS; SAFAVIEH, MOHAMMADALI; MODARESIFAR, MASOUD; VYDIAM, KALYAN; KAUR, AMAN
To: LUNG BIOTECHNOLOGY PBC
Reel/Frame 062142/0234 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63185305 · May 6, 2021
Related Publication 20220354954A1 · Nov 10, 2022
References Cited (68)
US 5645581A · Zurbrugg · 1997 [cited by applicant]
US 6174929B1 · Haehnle et al. · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 11371014B2 · Miller et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11597915B2 · Xu et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20080029392A1 · Makuska · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20090011486A1 · Bettinger et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100221304A1 · Tan · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 20130029030A1 · Larsen · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20140335496A1 · Grego et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20170307598A1 · Skardal et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170354758A1 · Deng et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180002658A1 · Miller et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180243481A1 · Martin · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20200040306A1 · Xu et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200179563A1 · Bagley et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200324021A1 · Van Belleghem et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200339925A1 · Miller et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200347167A1 · Alli et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210069378A1 · Nelson et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
CN 105688279A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
DE 102019132211B3 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
EP 0466105A2 · 1992 [cited by applicant]
EP 3514228A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
JP 2018036524A · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2005105172A1 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2016154070A1 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2017031167A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2017040156A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2017066507A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2017210298A1 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2018187372A2 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2019195256A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2019226710A8 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2020028720A1 · 2020 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2020182987A1 · 2020 [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/738,686, filed May 6, 2022, Melican et al. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/738,694, filed May 6, 2022, Kaur et al. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/738,698, filed May 6, 2022, King et al. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/738,764, filed May 6, 2022, Kaur et al. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/738,833, filed May 6, 2022, Modaresifar et al. [cited by applicant]
Akentjew et al., “Rapid fabrication of reinforced and cell-laden vascular grafts structurally inspired by human coronary arteries,” Nature Communications, Dec. 1, 2019, 10(1):1-15. [cited by applicant]
Ali et al., “A Photo-Crosslinkable Kidney ECM-Derived Bioink Accelerates Renal Tissue Formation,” Advanced Healthcare Materials, Apr. 1, 2019, 8(7):e1800992, 10 pages. [cited by applicant]
Baek et al., “In situ assembly of the collagen-polyacrylamide interpenetrating network hydrogel: Enabling decoupled control of stiffness and degree of swelling,” European Polymer Journal, Nov. 1, 2015, 72:413-422. [cited by applicant]
Bilisik et al., “3D fabrics for technical textile applications,” in Non-woven Fabrics, Chapter 4, Intech, 2016, 81-141. [cited by applicant]
Calo et al., “Biomedical applications of hydrogels: A review of patents and commercial products,” European Polymer Journal, Apr. 2015, 65:252-267. [cited by applicant]
Fukao et al., “Hydrogels toughened by biominerals providing energy-dissipative sacrificial bonds,” J. Mater. Chem. B, 2020, 8:5184-5188. [cited by applicant]
Galliger et al., “3D bioprinting for lungs and hollow organs,” Translational Research, May 14, 2019, 211:19-34. [cited by applicant]
Han, Hai-Chao, “Twisted Blood Vessels: Symptoms, Etiology and Biomechanical Mechanisms,” J. Vasc. Res., May 2012 (online Mar. 14, 2012), 49(3):185-197. [cited by applicant]
Koobatian et al., “Surgical Technique for the Implantation of Tissue Engineered Vascular Grafts and Subsequent In Vivo Monitoring,” J. Vis. Exp., Apr. 3, 2015, (98):52354, 1-11. [cited by applicant]
Marga et al., “Toward engineering functional organ modules by additive manufacturing,” Biofabrication, Jun. 1, 2012, 4(2):022001, 13 pages. [cited by applicant]
Pashneh-Tala et al., “The Tissue-Engineered Vascular Graft-Past, Present and Future,” Tissue Engineering: Part B, 2016 (online Oct. 7, 2015), 22(1):68-100. [cited by applicant]
Weigel et al., “Photopolymer formulations for uSL printing of hydrogel microstructures as swellable functional elements,” Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging, SPIR—International Society for Optical Engineering, Ma… [cited by applicant]
Zhu et al., “Bioactive modification of poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels for tissue engineering,” Biomaterials, Jun. 1, 2010, 31(17):4639-4656. [cited by applicant]
Fan et al., “Bio-printing cell-laden Matrigel-agarose constructs,” Journal of Biomaterials Applications, 2016, 31(5):684-692. [cited by applicant]
Grigoryan et al., “Multivascular networks and functional intravascular topologies within biocompatible hydrogels,” Science, May 3, 2019, 364(6439):458-464, with Supplementary materials (39 pages). [cited by applicant]
Huh et al., “Reconstituting Organ-Level Lung Functions on a Chip,” Science, Jun. 25, 2010, 328(5986):1662-1668. [cited by applicant]
Kim et al., “Bio-ink Materials for 3D Bio-printing,” Journal of International Society for Simulation Surgery, 2016, 3(2):49-57. [cited by applicant]
Ma et al., “A Novel Method for Preparing Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogels: Preparation, Characterization, and Application,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Jun. 21, 2017, 56:7971-7976. [cited by applicant]
MilliporeSigma. https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/deepweb/assets/sigmaaldrich/marketing/global/images/technical-documents/articles/analytical-chemistry/purification/solvent-miscibility-table/solvent-miscibility-table.png. (Y… [cited by applicant]
Scarritt et al., “Re-endothelialization of rat lung scaffolds through passive, gravity-driven seeding of segment-specific pulmonary endothelial cells,” Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, 2018 (May … [cited by applicant]
Seo et al., “Characterization of bioactive RGD peptide immobilized onto poly(acrylic acid) thin films by plasma polymerization,” Applied Surface Science, 2010, 257:596-602. [cited by applicant]
Stratesteffen et al., “GeIMA-collagen blends enable drop-on-demand 3D printability and promote angiogenesis,” Biofabrication, 2017, 9:045002, 1-12. [cited by applicant]
Vila et al., “Hydrogel co-networks of gelatine methacrylate and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate sustain 3D functional in vitro models of intestinal mucosa,” Biofabrication, 2020, 12:025008, 1-16. [cited by applicant]
Wang et al., “Development of a Photo-Crosslinking, Biodegradable GeIMA/PEGDA Hydrogel for Guided Bone Regeneration Materials,” Materials, Aug. 3, 2018, 11:1345, 1-12. [cited by applicant]
Yin et al., “3D Bioprinting of Low-Concentration Cell-Laden Gelatin Methacrylate (GeIMA) Bioinks with a Two-Step Cross-linking Strategy,” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Feb. 6, 2018, 10:6849-6857. [cited by applicant]
Yue et al., “Synthesis, properties, and biomedical applications of gelatin methacryloyl (GeIMA) hydrogels,” Biomaterials, 2015, 73:254-271. [cited by applicant]
Zhuang et al., “Layer-by-layer ultraviolet assisted extrusion-based (UAE) bioprinting of hydrogel constructs with high aspect ratio for soft tissue engineering applications,” PLoS ONE, 2019, 14(6):e0216776, 1-21. [cited by applicant]
Ha et al., “Conductive GelMA-Collagen-AgNW Blended Hydrogel for Smart Actuator,” Polymers, Apr. 9, 2021, 13:1217, 1-10. [cited by applicant]