Bioprinting of three-dimensional scaffold based on alginate-gelatin as soft and hard tissue regeneration

Abstract

Three dimensional bioprinter technologies created an availability to use alive cells and molecules to replace or repair a damaged part of the body. In this paper, a novel alginate-gelatin hydrogel using BioFab X4 with a novel bioink cured with UV was produced. The designed architecture was fabricated with a cubic shape and then coated with various content of naproxen drug to estimate its drug release and biological response. The fabricated scaffolds were investigated for mechanical properties (porosity and tensile strength) and biological features (biodegradation and pH changes). The bioprinted samples were analyzed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. The obtained outcome indicated that the bioink with a coated naproxen has an especial mechanical and biological response compares to the pure specimen. The bioprinted specimen tensile strength increase from 64 kPa to 79 kPa as the coated eliminate from the surface of the scaffold. The morphological and structural properties of the coats show that the addition of naproxen may increase the adhesion of the polymers and chemical bonds encounter with higher toughness via coats. The printed scaffolds with a tensile strength of 78 kPa and 79 kPa belong to the sample with 4% and 6% naproxen coating. The pH concentration shows that the sample with coat and non-coat does not create an acidic environment after soaking for a specific time in the SBF or physiological saline. However, the degradation rate increases from 0.18 to 0.27 after soaking the sample in PBS. The results demonstrated that the novel hydrogel ink is fully compatible with the body.

Keywords

• 3D bioprinter
• Bioink
• Alginate-gelatin
• Scaffold
• Tissue engineering
• BioFabX4