Polymers (Aug 2022)

A Three-Dimensional Bioprinted Copolymer Scaffold with Biocompatibility and Structural Integrity for Potential Tissue Regeneration Applications

  • Bou-Yue Peng,
  • Keng-Liang Ou,
  • Chung-Ming Liu,
  • Shu-Fen Chu,
  • Bai-Hung Huang,
  • Yung-Chieh Cho,
  • Takashi Saito,
  • Chi-Hsun Tsai,
  • Kuo-Sheng Hung,
  • Wen-Chien Lan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14163415
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 16
p. 3415

Abstract

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The present study was to investigate the rheological property, printability, and cell viability of alginate–gelatin composed hydrogels as a potential cell-laden bioink for three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting applications. The 2 g of sodium alginate dissolved in 50 mL of phosphate buffered saline solution was mixed with different concentrations (1% (0.5 g), 2% (1 g), 3% (1.5 g), and 4% (2 g)) of gelatin, denoted as GBH-1, GBH-2, GBH-3, and GBH-4, respectively. The properties of the investigated hydrogels were characterized by contact angle goniometer, rheometer, and bioprinter. In addition, the hydrogel with a proper concentration was adopted as a cell-laden bioink to conduct cell viability testing (before and after bioprinting) using Live/Dead assay and immunofluorescence staining with a human corneal fibroblast cell line. The analytical results indicated that the GBH-2 hydrogel exhibited the lowest loss rate of contact angle (28%) and similar rheological performance as compared with other investigated hydrogels and the control group. Printability results also showed that the average wire diameter of the GBH-2 bioink (0.84 ± 0.02 mm (*** p 70%) of the human corneal fibroblast cell after seven days of printing under an ideal printing parameter combination (0.4 mm of inner diameter needle, 0.8 bar of printing pressure, and 25 °C of printing temperature). Therefore, the present study suggests that the GBH-2 hydrogel could be developed as a potential cell-laden bioink to print a cell scaffold with biocompatibility and structural integrity for soft tissues such as skin, cornea, nerve, and blood vessel regeneration applications.

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