Rheology Indicators for Assessing Bead Spreading of Hydrogels with Functional Rheology Modifiers for Direct Ink Writing: A Case Study for Chitosan-Graphene-Titanium Dioxide.

ABSTRACT: The rheological behavior of a model system composed of chitosan (CS) hydrogels with graphene and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as functional fillers is studied to define a design space between rheology modification and bead spreading in direct ink writing (DIW) additive manufacturing (AM). Rheological results are combined with printed bead studies to determine how each formulation component affects extrudability and bead shape retention, identifying tan delta as the strongest indicator of good shape retention. Samples with tan delta >1 exhibited ink spreading postdeposition, while those with predominantly solid-like behavior (tan delta ≤ 1 at low angular frequencies) and low-to-intermediate TiO₂ concentrations extruded well and maintained their shape in the time scale of pr

SUBMITTER: Heinze DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12481477 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature