journal article·2026-07Open access

MorphoPipe: A pipeline for seamless toolpath design of heterogeneous tubular melt electrowritten scaffolds

Yi He, Xiaoyun Liu, Linqi Dai, Lei Du, Kai Cao

Materials & Design· Volume 267

Abstract

Melt electrowriting (MEW) enables the fabrication of tubular scaffolds with micrometer-scale precision but critically depends on continuous and smooth toolpaths. Together with the intrinsically unintuitive nature of tubular design, this requirement has constrained the realization of spatially heterogeneous microarchitectures characteristic of many native tubular organs. Here, we present MorphoPipe , a workflow that enables intuitive and rational engineering of architecturally heterogeneous tubular scaffolds while preserving uninterrupted MEW jet deposition. In MorphoPipe , a conventional tubular toolpath is conceptually cut along a longitudinal seam and unwrapped into a planar curve, which is then strategically deformed to introduce controlled microarchitectural heterogeneity before being rewrapped onto the tubular surface. Toolpath continuity and smoothness after rewrapping are ensured by three theoretical principles: ( i ) a smoothness condition for planar curves, ( ii ) a periodicity criterion for intrinsically periodic deformations, and ( iii ) a finite-replication strategy that periodizes local deformations without compromising print continuity. The complete workflow is implemented within an integrated design platform and experimentally validated through the fabrication of four biomimetic tubular scaffolds, including arteriovenous grafts, heart-valve grafts, flow diverters, and tracheal grafts. Collectively, this work establishes a robust and generalizable foundation for MEW-based engineering of spatially sophisticated tubular tissues.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence · Advanced Materials and Mechanics · Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

References (26)

Show source-provided references
1. Advances in design and quality of melt electrowritten scaffolds10.1016/j.matdes.2023.111618 ↗
2. Polymers for melt electrowriting10.1002/adhm.202001232 ↗
3. A decade of melt electrowriting10.1002/smtd.202201589 ↗
4. Advances in 3D printing scaffolds for peripheral nerve and spinal cord injury repair
5. Developments of advanced electrospinning techniques: a critical review10.1002/admt.202100410 ↗
6. Additive manufacturing of scaffolds with sub-micron filaments via melt electrospinning writing10.1088/1758-5090/7/3/035002 ↗
7. Designing with circular arc toolpaths to increase the complexity of melt electrowriting10.1002/admt.202101676 ↗
8. Melt electrowriting allows tailored microstructural and mechanical design of scaffolds to advance functional human myocardial tissue formation10.1002/adfm.201803151 ↗
9. Electroconductive melt electrowritten patches matching the mechanical anisotropy of human myocardium10.1002/adfm.201909880 ↗
10. Auxetic tubular scaffolds via melt electrowriting10.1016/j.matdes.2020.108787 ↗
11. Melt electrowriting of high-precision diamond-square bi-phasic scaffolds and influence on mechanical characteristics through path planning10.1016/j.matlet.2025.138175 ↗
12. Engineering heart valve interfaces using melt electrowriting: Biomimetic design strategies from multi-modal imaging10.1002/adhm.202201028 ↗
13. Biologically inspired scaffolds for heart valve tissue engineering via melt electrowriting10.1002/smll.201900873 ↗
14. Design and fabrication of tubular scaffolds via direct writing in a melt electrospinning mode10.1007/s13758-011-0013-7 ↗
15. Design and fabrication of melt electrowritten tubes using intuitive software10.1016/j.matdes.2018.05.036 ↗
16. Design, fabrication, and characterization of tubular scaffolds by way of a melt electrowriting process
17. Preparation of diamond-shaped tubular fiber scaffolds by melt electrowriting based on the “dimension reduction approach
18. Exploiting nonlinear fiber patterning to control tubular scaffold mechanical behavior10.1002/admt.202200259 ↗
19. Personalized, mechanically strong, and biodegradable coronary artery stents via melt electrowriting10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00644 ↗
20. Biofabrication of tri-layered nerve guide conduits for peripheral nerve regeneration: Synergizing melt-electrowriting of polymeric fibers and extrusion-based 3D bioprinting
21. Compliance-matched small-diameter vascular grafts via hybrid melt electrospinning-electrowriting (MES/MEW) fabrication10.1002/pol.20250240 ↗
22. Highly compliant biomimetic scaffolds for small diameter tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) produced via melt electrowriting (MEW)10.1088/1758-5090/ad0ee1 ↗
23. Fabrication of a low-kink-radius bilayer vascular scaffold incorporating a TPU stent fabricated via melt electrowriting and an electrospun PCL/PU/gelatin layer10.1038/s41598-025-10547-4 ↗
24. Hybrid co-spinning and melt electrowriting approach enables fabrication of heterotypic tubular scaffolds resembling the non-linear mechanical properties of human blood vessels10.1002/adfm.202311797 ↗
25. Spatially heterogeneous tubular scaffolds for in situ heart valve tissue engineering using melt electrowriting10.1002/adfm.202110716 ↗
26. Seamless fabrication of biomimetic gradients in melt electrowriting via a continuum deformation framework