Integrated QSAR and Adverse Outcome Pathway Analysis of Chemicals Released on 3D Printing Using Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

Additive
manufacturing commonly known as 3D printing has numerous
applications in several domains including material and biomedical
technologies and has emerged as a tool of capabilities by providing
fast, highly customized, and cost-effective solutions. However, the
impact of the printing materials and chemicals present in the printing
fumes has raised concerns about their adverse potential affecting
humans and the environment. Thus, it is necessary to understand the
properties of the chemicals emitted during additive manufacturing
for developing safe and biocompatible fibers having controlled emission
of fumes including its sustainable usage. Therefore, in this study,
we have developed a computational predictive risk-assessment framework
on the comprehensive list of chemicals released during 3D printing
using the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament. Our results
showed that the chemicals present in the fumes of the ABS-based fiber
used in additive manufacturing have the potential to lead to various
toxicity end points such as inhalation toxicity, oral toxicity, carcinogenicity,
hepatotoxicity, and teratogenicity. Moreover, because of their absorption,
distribution in the body, metabolism, and excretion properties, most
of the chemicals exhibited a high absorption level in the intestine
and the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier. Furthermore,
pathway analysis revealed that signaling like alpha-adrenergic receptor
signaling, heterotrimeric G-protein signaling, and Alzheimer’s
disease-amyloid secretase pathway are significantly overrepresented
given the identified target proteins of these chemicals. These findings
signify the adversities associated with 3D printing fumes and the
necessity for the development of biodegradable and considerably safer
fibers for 3D printing technology.