@article{FengZhengBhusarietal.2020,
  author    = {Jun Feng and Yijun Zheng and Shardul Bhusari and Maria Villiou and Samuel Pearson and Ar{\´a}nzazu del Campo B{\´e}cares},
  title     = {Printed Degradable Optical Waveguides for Guiding Light into Tissue},
  series   = {Advanced Functional Materials},
  volume    = {30},
  number    = {45},
  issn      = {1616-301X},
  doi       = {10.1002/adfm.202004327},
  url       = {https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:291:415-3316},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Abstract Optogenetics and photonic technologies are changing the future of medicine. To implement light-based therapies in the clinic, patient-friendly devices that can deliver light inside the body while offering tunable properties and compatibility with soft tissues are needed. Here extrusion printing of degradable, hydrogel-based optical waveguides with optical losses as low as 0.1 dB cm−1 at visible wavelengths is described. Core-only and core-cladding fibers are printed at room temperature from polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based and PEG/Pluronic precursors, and cured by in situ photopolymerization. The obtained waveguides are flexible, with mechanical properties tunable within a tissue-compatible range. Degradation times are also tunable by adjusting the molar mass of the diacrylate gel precursors, which are synthesized by linking PEG diacrylate (PEGDA) with varying proportions of DL-dithiothreitol (DTT). The printed waveguides are used to activate photochemical and optogenetic processes in close-to-physiological environments. Light-triggered migration of cells in a photoresponsive 3D hydrogel and drug release from an optogenetically-engineered living material by delivering light across >5 cm of muscle tissue are demonstrated. These results quantify the in vitro performance, and reflect the potential of the printed degradable fibers for in vivo and clinical applications.},
  language  = {en}
}