Recently, additive manufacturing has become increasingly available for personalized biomedical applications; still, the material science is one of the primary contentions. Polyamide (PA) has several beneficial characteristics, including mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and flexibility, making it an excellent candidate for biomedical applications. Based on that, this systematic review aims to summarize and critically evaluate the state‐of‐the‐art knowledge of 3D printed polyamide and its composites with respect to material sciences and biomedical applications. Medline, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases were searched for biomedical applications of additively manufactured polyamide. Overall, 1889 papers were screened, and 114 articles were finally selected to be included in this review. This work consists of three sections aiming at a comprehensive biomedical evaluation of the material, starting with mechanical characteristics of polyamide and its composites, considering distinct 3D printing technologies, followed by tissue engineering, drug delivery, and personalized biomedical solutions. Finally, biomedical educational and patient information applications are discussed with insights into future medical applications. Based on the results, polyamide and its composites are suggested to be excellent candidates for biomedical applications. However, this systematic approach highlighted the distinct need for thorough mechanical analysis and clinical trials based on universal standards for future biomedical applications.
Conductive polymer composites are commonly present in flexible electrodes for neural interfaces, implantable sensors, and aerospace applications. Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is a widely used additive manufacturing technology, where conductive filaments frequently contain carbon-based fillers. In this study, the static and dynamic mechanical properties and the electrical properties (resistance, signal transmission, resistance measurements during cyclic tensile, bending and temperature tests) were investigated for polylactic acid (PLA)-based, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)-based, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)-based, and polyamide (PA)-based conductive filaments with carbon-based additives. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was implemented to evaluate the results. Cytotoxicity measurements were performed. The conductive ABS specimens have a high gauge factor between 0.2% and 1.0% strain. All tested materials, except the PA-based conductive composite, are suitable for low-voltage applications such as 3D-printed EEG and EMG sensors. ABS-based and TPU-based conductive composites are promising raw materials suitable for temperature measuring and medical applications.
30 October 2024 in Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
Polyamide (PA) has excellent mechanical properties, making it versatile in various applications, including 3D printing. This paper comprehensively investigates and compares the mechanical, structural, thermal, and geometric properties of 3D‐printed PA12 samples produced with desktop and industrial printers using material extrusion (MEX) and powder bed fusion (PBF) processes. The mechanical tests included tensile, flexural, Charpy impact, Shore hardness, torsion, and water absorption tests. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and melt volume rate (MVR) measurements are conducted. To verify printing accuracy from a biomedical perspective, 3D‐printed prosthetic fingers are subjected to geometric assessments. Industrial PBF samples show significantly higher values for most mechanical properties, including a tensile Young's modulus of 1776 ± 19.42 MPa, while the second highest value is 1419 ± 58.77 MPa (MEX desktop). Furthermore, the MVR of the PBF industrial samples is the highest (18.34 cm 3 /10 min ± 2.32 cm 3 /10 min) and this printer exhibits superior performance in printing accuracy than the other printers. The balanced print quality and mechanics make the PBF industrial printer the most recommended for medical device production, but lower‐priced desktop FFF printers can be a good alternative for simple, fast solutions that do not require high precision.
16 August 2026 in Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Material extrusion (MEX), particularly Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), is a widely used 3D printing technology, with growing interest in composite materials due to their broad range of applications. This study focuses on commercially available copper‐ and bronze‐filled polylactic‐acid (PLA) composites printed with FFF technology and on providing guidance for future practical applications, particularly in the biomedical field and 4D printing. In this research, static and dynamic mechanical tests, scanning electron microscopic imaging, and electric resistance measurements were conducted, and the thermal properties were determined by thermal conductivity measurements and differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis (DSC‐TGA). Cytotoxicity was assessed using an A549 cell viability assay. The results show that the material's brittleness increases in proportion to the volume percentage of metal particles; among the copper composites FormFutura MetalFil – Classic copper (29.14 vol.%) had the lower tensile strength (15.4 MPa ± 0.17 MPa), while for bronze composites, the tensile strength was lower for ColorFabb BronzeFill (33.64 vol.%, 17.7 MPa ± 0.54 MPa). Furthermore, these composites have no cytotoxic effect in short‐term contact, and their enhanced thermal conductivity over traditional prosthetic materials makes them promising candidates for the development of prostheses intended to mitigate thermal discomfort.