3D bioprinting of nanoparticle-laden hydrogel scaffolds with enhanced antibacterial and imaging properties
Andrea S. Theus,
Liqun Ning,
Gabriella Kabboul,
Boeun Hwang,
Martin L. Tomov,
Christopher N. LaRock,
Holly Bauser-Heaton,
Morteza Mahmoudi,
Vahid Serpooshan
Affiliations
Andrea S. Theus
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Liqun Ning
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Gabriella Kabboul
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Boeun Hwang
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Martin L. Tomov
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Christopher N. LaRock
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Holly Bauser-Heaton
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Sibley Heart Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30342, USA
Morteza Mahmoudi
Precision Health Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48842, USA
Vahid Serpooshan
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Biomaterial-associated microbial contaminations in biologically conducive three-dimensional (3D) tissue-engineered constructs have significantly limited the clinical applications of scaffold systems. To prevent such infections, antimicrobial biomaterials are rapidly evolving. Yet, the use of such materials in bioprinting-based approaches of scaffold fabrication has not been examined. This study introduces a new generation of bacteriostatic gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)-based bioinks, incorporated with varying doses of antibacterial superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). The SPION-laden GelMA scaffolds showed significant resistance against the Staphylococcus aureus growth, while providing a contrast in magnetic resonance imaging. We simulated the bacterial contamination of cellular 3D GelMA scaffolds in vitro and demonstrated the significant effect of functionalized scaffolds in inhibiting bacterial growth, while maintaining cell viability and growth. Together, these results present a new promising class of functionalized bioinks to 3D bioprint tissue-engineered scaffold with markedly enhanced properties for the use in a variety of in vitro and clinical applications.
