(155d) Understanding Multiphase Behavior of Additively Manufactured Lattices: Progress Towards Personalized Biomedical Tools and Platforms

The extraordinary flexibility afforded by additive manufacturing has enabled a design space that caters to the needs of a variety of fields. It has seen utility in chemical engineering unit operations and process intensification, and with its potential for hierarchical structures and mass customization, it has also become an invaluable tool for developing multidisciplinary solutions to biomedical challenges. One such area of interest is pulmonary drug delivery, in which additive manufacturing can facilitate both patient-specific medical devices and in vitro testing platforms. While there has been increased interest in periodic 3D printed structures for fluidic applications, the field is still nascent. In particular, multiphase interactions with these structures, as well as the influence of processing steps, remain to be understood. In this work, we examine the aerosol filtration characteristics of periodic lattice structures, taking common unit cells from the literature (simple cubic and Kelvin) as a basis. With parts fabricated using the Carbon M1 platform, we observe significant differences in particle collection between lattice sizes and differential behavior within sections of a lattice column. We discuss the influence of part resolution on coating effectiveness, particle collection, and subsequent removal of particles from the lattices. Finally, we discuss the broader implications of these findings and the utility of parametric design combined with additive manufacturing in the field of pulmonary medicine. With these developments and continued work, we emphasize the potential of additive manufacturing in developing truly personalized solutions to critical biomedical challenges.