Stochastic fracture of additively manufactured porous composites.

Extrusion-based fused deposition modeling (FDM) introduces inter-bead pores into dense materials, which results in part-to-part mechanical property variations, i.e., low mechanical reliability.

Extracellular matrix-like surfactant polymers containing arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptides.

We report on a novel series of biomimetic polymers exhibiting interfacial properties similar to the extracellular matrix. A series of well-defined surfactant polymers were synthesized by simultaneously incorporating arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide, dextran oligosaccharide, and hexyl ligands with controlled feed ratios onto a poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) backbone. The peptide sequence was H-GSSSGRGDSPA-NH(2) (Pep) having a hydrophilic extender at the amino terminus and capped carboxy terminus.

Human microvascular endothelial cell growth and migration on biomimetic surfactant polymers.

Successful engineering of a tissue-incorporated vascular prosthesis requires cells to proliferate and migrate on the scaffold. Here, we report on a series of "ECM-like" biomimetic surfactant polymers that exhibit quantitative control over the proliferation and migrational properties of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC). The biomimetic polymers consist of a poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) backbone with hexanal branches and varying ratios of cell binding peptide (RGD) to carbohydrate (maltose).