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<p>Hydrogels are widely used in tissue engineering and scaffold fabrication due to their excellent biocompatibility, while 3D printing excels at creating complex architectures. Among various techniques, low-temperature extrusion-based 3D printing has shown promise for hydrogel scaffold fabrication, as rapid solidification under controlled cooling can improve shape retention during deposition. However, commercial low-temperature DIW systems are often expensive, closed-source, and difficult to customize. Moreover, most require a two-step post-processing workflow involving external freeze-thaw cycles, which can damage structures through mechanical disturbance and temperature gradients, increasing contamination risk. To address these issues, we developed a low-cost, open-source low-temperature 3D printing platform by modifying a commercial FDM printer with custom hardware and upgraded software. It maintains stable − 30&#xa0;°C ± 1&#xa0;°C and supports in-situ freezing and freeze-thaw processing. Using a Poly(vinyl alcohol)-lignosulfonate sodium-TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (PVA-LS-TOCNF) hydrogel as the model ink, we achieved stable printing of various patterns and mechanical test specimens, with tensile properties comparable to those from ex-situ freeze-thaw methods. Overall, this platform significantly lowers barriers to low-temperature hydrogel 3D printing and improves accessibility.</p>

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An open-source 3D printing system enabling in-situ freeze-thaw processing of hydrogels

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月30日

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  • Guangteng Zhang,
  • Yadong Chen,
  • Meichen Wang,
  • Da Ge,
  • Qiang Du,
  • Li Ke,
  • Tianxing Gong,
  • Feng Qi,
  • Juncheng Bao

摘要

Hydrogels are widely used in tissue engineering and scaffold fabrication due to their excellent biocompatibility, while 3D printing excels at creating complex architectures. Among various techniques, low-temperature extrusion-based 3D printing has shown promise for hydrogel scaffold fabrication, as rapid solidification under controlled cooling can improve shape retention during deposition. However, commercial low-temperature DIW systems are often expensive, closed-source, and difficult to customize. Moreover, most require a two-step post-processing workflow involving external freeze-thaw cycles, which can damage structures through mechanical disturbance and temperature gradients, increasing contamination risk. To address these issues, we developed a low-cost, open-source low-temperature 3D printing platform by modifying a commercial FDM printer with custom hardware and upgraded software. It maintains stable − 30 °C ± 1 °C and supports in-situ freezing and freeze-thaw processing. Using a Poly(vinyl alcohol)-lignosulfonate sodium-TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (PVA-LS-TOCNF) hydrogel as the model ink, we achieved stable printing of various patterns and mechanical test specimens, with tensile properties comparable to those from ex-situ freeze-thaw methods. Overall, this platform significantly lowers barriers to low-temperature hydrogel 3D printing and improves accessibility.