Benchmarking Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Elastomeric Microstructures.

ABSTRACT: The characterization of mechanical properties in soft three-dimensional (3D) printed materials at the microscale remains a significant challenge due to the lack of standardized methodologies. To address this issue, a microscale nanoindentation protocol for elastomeric 3D printed microstructures is developed, optimized, and benchmarked. Herein, a conospherical indenter tip (r = 10.26 µm), a modified trapezoidal displacement profile with lift-off segments to capture adhesion interactions, and the nano-Johnson-Kendall-Roberts model for data analysis are employed. The protocol is optimized and verified using four newly developed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based inks for two-photon 3D laser printing. The results are compared to a state-of-the-art literature protocol that uses a Berkovich tip a

SUBMITTER: Eivgi O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12825332 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature