US 12,011,871 B2
Processes for formation of porous biologically compatible scaffold structures
Junhua Wei, Mountain View, CA (US); Gabriel Iftime, Dublin, CA (US); Jessica Louis Baker Rivest, Palo Alto, CA (US); and Anne Plochowietz, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Assigned to Xerox Corporation, Norwalk, CT (US)
Filed by PALO ALTO RESEARCH CENTER INCORPORATED, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Filed on Sep. 23, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/951,259.
Application 17/951,259 is a division of application No. 16/222,207, filed on Dec. 17, 2018, granted, now 11,485,066.
Prior Publication US 2023/0021181 A1, Jan. 19, 2023
Int. Cl. B05D 7/16 (2006.01); B29C 64/10 (2017.01); A61L 27/56 (2006.01); B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B33Y 70/00 (2020.01); B33Y 70/10 (2020.01); B82Y 5/00 (2011.01)
CPC B29C 64/10 (2017.08) [A61L 27/56 (2013.01); B05D 7/16 (2013.01); B33Y 10/00 (2014.12); B33Y 70/00 (2014.12); B33Y 70/10 (2020.01); B82Y 5/00 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of forming a porous structure, comprising:
simultaneously depositing a solvent and a mixture using a three-dimensional (3D) printer, the mixture comprising a curable material which is dispersed in the solvent or another solvent;
controlling, during the simultaneous deposition, a ratio of the solvent to the mixture comprising the curable material;
increasing a viscosity of the deposited solvent and mixture comprising the curable material and solidifying the solvent;
curing the curable material while a shape of the curable material is maintained by the solvent; and
removing the solvent from the structure, the structure comprising pore diameters that are below a resolution of the 3D printer.
 
14. A method of forming a porous structure, comprising:
simultaneously depositing a solvent and a mixture using a three-dimensional (3D) printer, the mixture comprising a curable material which is dispersed in the solvent or another solvent;
controlling, during the simultaneous deposition, a ratio of the solvent to the mixture comprising the curable material;
increasing a viscosity of the deposited solvent and mixture comprising the curable material and solidifying the solvent;
curing the curable material while a shape of the curable material is maintained by the solvent; and
removing the solvent from the structure;
wherein simultaneously depositing the solvent and the curable material while controlling the ratio of the solvent to the curable material produces pores of the structure with pore sizes that are less than a resolution of the 3D printer.