Fig. 5: Liquid-infused 3D printed patches for blood-resistant tissue sealing.

a Illustrated schematic and photograph of the oil-infused 3D printed patch. A porous 3D printed pattern is integrated with a collagen sponge and infiltrated with oleic acid. b Photographs of the oil-infused patch being adhered to porcine skin submerged in a blood bath. c Illustrated schematic of the blood-repelling, oil-dewetting, and tissue adhesion process. d Burst pressure vs. applied pressure for the oil-infused 3D printed patch compared with a smooth, non-porous patch (of the same material) coated with a layer of oil. Compared with the smooth patch, the porous 3D printed patch can achieve higher burst pressures at a lower applied pressure. Values and error bars represent the mean and standard deviation (n = 4 independent samples). Source data are provided as a Source Data file. e Photographs of the in vivo application of an oil-infused 3D printed patch to repair an actively bleeding defect in the liver of a rat. f Photographs of the in vivo application of an oil-infused 3D printed patch to repair an actively bleeding defect in the femoral artery of a rat. For each animal model presented in e–f, two independent experiments were conducted with similar results.