Research Projects

Maxillofacial distortion, caused by traumatic injuries, burns, infections, and surgical resections, can have severe effects on an individual's mental health. Surgical methods are often inconvenient due to the size and type of defects, making prosthesis an alternative. Various materials have been explored for prosthesis effectiveness, but they often have shortcomings. The project aims to develop functional, soft, and biocompatible elastomeric inks for maxillofacial prosthesis application using polymer processing methods. The elastomers will be mainly UV curable RTV silicone and polyurethane (PU), with flowability and printability analyzed through rheological characterization. Traditionally, maxillofacial prosthesis require prototype development, which does not consider the tiny pores of defective areas. This project aims to explore additive manufacturing of developed elastomeric inks using liquid deposition modelling and 3D printing. The printability and mechanical properties of various formulations will be investigated, and the effects of printing speed, concentration of ink, printing orientation, layer thickness, and infill degree on mechanical and elastomeric properties will be assessed. A computer-based program will be developed to optimize additive manufacturing process parameters. The developed additive manufactured specimens will be tested for strength, biocompatibility, wettability, UV resistivity, and durability. The enabling properties and practicality of these elastomeric inks for maxillofacial prosthesis will be demonstrated. The project's PI has extensive expertise in developing functional elastomeric materials and 3D printing of soft elastomer compounds, making it highly likely to be successfully implemented within the stipulated time frame.