Gabriela de Lima

Gabriela de Lima

Biography

Gabriela de Lima is a rising second-year Mechanical Engineering student at HowardUniversity and a member of the Karsh STEM Scholars PhD pathway program. She is interested in mobility research, and is particularly curious about how wearable machinery can increase the quality of life for those with limited movement. Gabriela’s passion for mobility innovation was inspired by her observations of the physical demands placed on blue-collar workers in her community. At MIT, she is working in the Raman Lab optimizing 3D stereolithographic printing for creating muscle tissue scaffolds, with the ultimate goal of developing treatments for dysfunctinal muscle tissue. At Howard, Gabriela is actively involved in both academic and community initiatives. She is the director of the mentorship program for the HU Society for Women in Engineering chapter, aiming to uplift female engineers both professionally and academically. She also is the producer of Radio Chango, the podcast for Howard’s Afro-Latine student organization, where she explores topics surrounding her cultural identity and community.Outside of academia, Gabriela finds joy in creative expression through nail artistry and crocheting

Abstract

Enhancing SLA 3D Printing for the Manufacturing of Muscle Tissue Scaffolds

Tissue engineering is an effective approach for creating muscle grafts used in the surgical treatment of volumetric muscle loss (>20% loss of tissue). Among fabrication techniques, 3D printing has emerged as a promising method to replicate the complex architecture of skeletal muscle, but the most common method, extrusion-based bioprinting, has resolution limitations. Alternatively, stereolithographic (SLA) 3D printing, which uses a UV laser to photocure ink, is largely unexplored in tissue engineering. If optimized, SLA bioprinting could offer a rapid, high-resolution method for fabricating complex muscle grafts. This study investigates how varying print parameters impact the mechanical properties of printed structures using the Cellink SLA 3D bioprinter. Square structures (5 x 5 x 0.7 mm) were printed under different conditions and analyzed using visual inspection and tensile stress testing. Poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), a biocompatible synthetic polymer, was used as the printing medium due to its average Young’s modulus, which can match native skeletal muscle. Variables included cure times from 5 to 10 seconds, light intensities from 5% to 40%, crosslinker concentrations of 0.4% and 0.2%, and PEGDA molecular weights of 700 and 1000 kDa, resulting in 40 total conditions. The creation of an SLA bioprinting parameter guide provides an avenue to automate the tedious hydrogel casting processes that occur when fabricating complex hydrogel structures.