(325b) Ultraviolet-Assisted Direct Ink Writing of Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) Tissue Scaffolds

Nearly 25% of women in the US would suffer from pelvic organ prolapse (POP) during their lifetime. The leading cause of this dysfunction is weakened pelvic floors, resulting from aging, obesity, heavy lifting, or childbirth injury. Although not fatal, the complications, including urinary incontinence and sexual difficulties, significantly reduced their quality of life. Polypropylene (PP) meshes have been used to serve as the support scaffolds in reconstructive surgeries but recently received complaints about their side effects, such as infection, pain, and mesh erosion. The FDA, therefore, re-classified the polypropylene mesh as a high-risk device, unveiling the fact that a suitable biocompatible material is needed for POP scaffolds. We developed a new POP scaffold based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Thiol-ene click chemistry was introduced to adapt PVA to the UV-assisted direct ink writing (DIW), where the cross-link reaction was triggered in real-time to induce the sol-gel transition during the printing. Machine learning and image analysis were conducted to optimize printing parameters and efficiently improve production quality. Besides the thiol-ene bonding, a physical cross-link network was established by introducing a crystalline domain with a simple alkaline treatment. The double network adjusted the degradation rate and the mechanical properties to meet the requirements for tissue regeneration. Our study combines new biomaterials with rapid prototyping, showing a novel solution to POP and shedding light on personalized medicine.