The Effect of a Type I Photoinitiator on Cure Kinetics and Cell Toxicity in Projection-Microstereolithography

Projection-microstereolithography is an additive manufacturing technique based on the spatially controlled solidification of a liquid photopolymer on exposure to digitally manipulated light patterns. This study presents a methodology to evaluate the effect of a type-I photoinitiator on the reaction kinetics in the process and the cytocompatibility of the produced components. While the reaction speed and degree of conversion were heavily dependent on the applied amount of the initiator, a clear toxic effect was observed with all tested concentrations, and a post-processing step of 7 days was required to leach out the initiator residues.