Computational analysis of mechanical performance for 3D-printed biodegradable PLA cardiovascular stents

Yi Huang; Yan Xu; Jialu Li; Zhipeng Deng; Xinmiao Feng; Rixiang Quan; Weiting Xu; Xiaolong Chen; James P K Armstrong; Massimo Caputo; Cian Vyas; Paulo Bartolo; Fengyuan Liu; Giovanni Biglino

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2026.107355

Computational analysis of mechanical performance for 3D-printed biodegradable PLA cardiovascular stents

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2026 Apr:176:107355. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2026.107355. Epub 2026 Jan 29.

Authors

Yi Huang¹, Yan Xu², Jialu Li³, Zhipeng Deng³, Xinmiao Feng⁴, Rixiang Quan², Weiting Xu², Xiaolong Chen⁵, James P K Armstrong³, Massimo Caputo⁶, Cian Vyas⁷, Paulo Bartolo⁸, Fengyuan Liu⁹, Giovanni Biglino¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Translational Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
² School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
³ Department of Translational Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
⁴ Faculty of Business, City University of Macau, Macao Special Administrative Region of China.
⁵ Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
⁶ Department of Translational Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; Department of Medical Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
⁷ Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
⁸ Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore; School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
⁹ School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. Electronic address: fengyuan.liu@bristol.ac.uk.
¹⁰ Department of Translational Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. Electronic address: g.biglino@bristol.ac.uk.

PMID: 41616529
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2026.107355

Abstract

Cardiovascular stents are widely applied in the treatment of arterial stenosis, but conventional metallic stents present limitations such as permanent implantation, hypersensitivity reactions, and late restenosis. Biodegradable polymer stents offer a promising alternative, though their translation is restricted by structural design challenges and inadequate mechanical performance. In this study, eight representative stent architectures were computationally evaluated with respect to radial elastic recoil, foreshortening, dogboning, and radial support force. Stents were fabricated from polylactide (PLA) via fused deposition modelling (FDM), and the effects of nozzle temperature, layer height, and printing speed were systematically assessed on PLA dogbone specimens to determine optimised process parameters. Computational analysis revealed that only type B and type F stents met clinical deformation requirements, with radial elastic recoil <6 %, foreshortening <10 %, and dogboning <10 %, while other designs exhibited values exceeding these thresholds. Parallel compression tests further quantified radial support capacity at 50 % compression. Fabrication and dimensional evaluation showed that, although all stent designs could be produced using optimised FDM parameters, manufacturing-induced geometric deviations at thin struts and unit connection regions were unavoidable. As a result, the finite-element simulations should be regarded as providing idealised mechanical responses for comparative design evaluation rather than exact predictions of fabricated prototypes. Overall, these findings provide structural and process design guidelines for the development of mechanically reliable 3D-printed biodegradable PLA cardiovascular stents, while emphasising the importance of manufacturing fidelity when translating computationally optimised designs into physical devices.

Keywords: 3D printing; Biodegradable stents; Deformation simulation; Polylactide (PLA); S: cardiovascular diseases; Structural design.

MeSH terms

Absorbable Implants*
Biocompatible Materials*
Finite Element Analysis*
Materials Testing
Mechanical Phenomena*
Polyesters* / chemistry
Printing, Three-Dimensional*
Stents*

Substances

poly(lactide)
Polyesters
Biocompatible Materials