Cellulose Nanofibers for the Enhancement of Printability of Low Viscosity Gelatin Derivatives
Sungchul Shin,
Soohyun Park,
Minsung Park,
Eunsue Jeong,
Kyunga Na,
Hye Jung Youn,
Jinho Hyun
Affiliations
Sungchul Shin
Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Korea, Republic of
Soohyun Park
Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Korea, Republic of
Minsung Park
Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Korea, Republic of
Eunsue Jeong
Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Korea, Republic of
Kyunga Na
Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Korea, Republic of
Hye Jung Youn
Department of Forest Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University
Jinho Hyun
Department of Biosystems and Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Republic of Korea; Korea, Republic of
Inadequate rheological properties of gelatin methacrylamide (GelMA) were successfully improved by incorporating cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), such that the printed scaffolds could maintain their structural fidelity during the three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing process. The CNFs provided an outstanding shear thinning property, and the GelMA/CNF inks exhibited high zero shear viscosity and structural fidelity under a low dispensing pressure. After evaluating the printability, composite inks containing 2% w/v CNF were observed to have an optimal concentration of CNF to prepare 3D print stable constructs. Therefore, these inks were used to manufacture human nose and ear structures, producing highly porous structures in the printed composite hydrogels. Furthermore, the mechanical stability of the GelMA/CNF composite hydrogel was increased when CNFs were incorporated, which indicated that CNFs played an important role in enhancing the structural properties of the composite hydrogels. Additionally, the biocompatibility of CNF-reinforced hydrogels was evaluated using a fibroblast cell line.
