Photoembossing is a technique used to create relief structures using a
patterned contact photo-mask exposure and a thermal development step.
Typically, the photopolymer consists of a polymer binder and a monomer in a
1/1 ratio together with a photo-initiator which results in a solid and
non-tacky material at room temperature. Here, new mixtures for
photoembossing are presented which are potentially biocompatible. A polymer
binder such as poly (methyl methacrylate) with triacrylate monomer and
biocompatible photo-initiator Irgacure 369 is used. Photopolymer films
produced are successfully embossed with height of relief structures
controlled by UV dosage and developing temperature. Furthermore, the
photopolymer blend is electrospun to form fibres with diameters of 5 μm
which are then photoembossed. The photoembossed fibres showed homogenous
reproducible surface textures. Biocompatibility is evaluated by culturing
human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) on films of this
photopolymer blend. The study shows that photoembossing is a feasible method
of producing surface texturing on both films and electrospun fibres for
tissue engineering applications.