Scaffold 3D printed with Akira Science AKIMed-c12. (Credit: Akira Science)
Akira Science, a start-up specialising in raw materials and filaments for extrusion-based 3D printing and biomedical applications, has announced it is working validate its AKIMed-C12 material for use on EnvisionTEC’s 3D bioprinter.
The material, a high molecular weight linear semicrystalline poly(ether ester), is currently undergoing evaluation at EnvisionTEC’s facility in Germany where initial tests in optimisation of printing parameters for challenging scaffold designs are said to be displaying “very promising results.”
Akira Science is a spin-off from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden founded by Anna Finne Wistrand, Daniela Pappalardo and Dr. Tiziana Fuoco to deliver degradable polymers for additive manufacturing in the biomedical field. AKIMed-C12 is a new material that provides thermal stability and control during the printing process and is said to degrade much faster than comparable materials on the market today. For example, scaffolds 3D printed in this material are said to have an estimated degradation time of 9-10 months under hydrolytic conditions at 37 °C.
EnvisionTEC’s 3D-Bioplotter has been chosen due to its reliability and reputation in the field, which has seen the technology used to research bone, cartilage and soft tissue regeneration, drug release and organ printing. Working with AKIMed-C12, it is now being used to investigate biomedical scaffold characterisation and strategies for high cell-material requirements to enhance the creation of soft tissue.
Through this collaboration, the two companies aim to prove the commercial viability of producing the next generation of highly porous, pliable, customised scaffolds at scale for the tissue engineering market. On a more long-term basis, Akira Science will continue to develop new materials, including degradable resins that can be implemented by different EnvisionTEC technologies.
