Liquid-phase 3D bioprinting of gelatin alginate hydrogels: influence of printing parameters on hydrogel line width and layer height

The use of fluid-phase 3D printing to pattern alginate-gelatin hydrogel properties to guide cell growth and behaviourin vitro

Three-dimensional (3D) (bio)printing technology has boosted the advancement of the biomedical field. However, tissue engineering is an evolving field and (bio)printing biomimetic constructions for tissue formation is still a challenge. As a new methodology to facilitate the construction of more complex structures, we suggest the use of the fluid-phase 3D printing to pattern the scaffold's properties. The methodology consists of an exchangeable fluid-phase printing medium in which the constructions are fabricated and patterned during the printing process. Using the fluid-phase methodology, the biological and mechanical properties can be tailored promoting cell behaviour guidance and compartmentalization. In this study, we first assessed different formulations of alginate/gelatin to create a stable substrate capable to promote massive cell colonizationin vitroover time. Overall, formulations with lower gelatin content and 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES) buffer as a solvent showed better stability under cell culture conditions and enhanced U2OS cell growth. Next, the fluid-phase showed better printing fidelity and resolution in comparison to air printing as it diminished the collapsing and the spread of the hydrogel strand. In sequence, the fluid-phase methodology was used to create functionalized alginate-gelatin-arginylglycylaspartic acid peptide (RGD) hydrogels via carbodiimides chemistry. The alginate-gelatin-RGD hydrogels showed an increase of 2.97-fold in cell growth and more spread substrate colonization in comparison to alginate-gelatin hydrogel. Moreover, the fluid-phase methodology was used to add RGD molecules to pre-determined parts of the alginate-gelatin substrate during the printing process promoting U2OS cell compartmentalization. In addition, different substrate stiffnesses were also created via fluid-phase by crosslinking the hydrogel with different concentrations of CaCl2during the printing process. As a result, the U2OS cells were also compartmentalized on the stiffer parts of the printings. Finally, our results showed that by combining stiffer hydrogel with RGD increasing concentrations we can create a synergetic effect and boost cell metabolism by up to 3.17-fold. This work presents an idea of a new printing process for tailoring multiple parameters in hydrogel substrates by using fluid-phase to generate more faithful replication of thein vivoenvironment.

Three-Dimensional Bioprinting in Vascular Tissue Engineering and Tissue Vascularization of Cardiovascular Diseases

In the 21st century, significant progress has been made in repairing damaged materials through material engineering. However, the creation of large-scale artificial materials still faces a major challenge in achieving proper vascularization. To address this issue, researchers have turned to biomaterials and three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting techniques, which allow for the combination of multiple biomaterials with improved mechanical and biological properties that mimic natural materials. Hydrogels, known for their ability to support living cells and biological components, have played a crucial role in this research. Among the recent developments, 3D bioprinting has emerged as a promising tool for constructing hybrid scaffolds. However, there are several challenges in the field of bioprinting, including the need for nanoscale biomimicry, the formulation of hydrogel blends, and the ongoing complexity of vascularizing biomaterials, which requires further research. On a positive note, 3D bioprinting offers a solution to the vascularization problem due to its precise spatial control, scalability, and reproducibility compared with traditional fabrication methods. This paper aims at examining the recent advancements in 3D bioprinting technology for creating blood vessels, vasculature, and vascularized materials. It provides a comprehensive overview of the progress made and discusses the limitations and challenges faced in current 3D bioprinting of vascularized tissues. In addition, the paper highlights the future research directions focusing on the development of 3D bioprinting techniques and bioinks for creating functional materials.

Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMA)-Based Biomaterial Inks: Process Science for 3D/4D Printing and Current Status

Tissue engineering for injured tissue replacement and regeneration has been a subject of investigation over the last 30 years, and there has been considerable interest in using additive manufacturing to achieve these goals. Despite such efforts, many key questions remain unanswered, particularly in the area of biomaterial selection for these applications as well as quantitative understanding of the process science. The strategic utilization of biological macromolecules provides a versatile approach to meet diverse requirements in 3D printing, such as printability, buildability, and biocompatibility. These molecules play a pivotal role in both physical and chemical cross-linking processes throughout the biofabrication, contributing significantly to the overall success of the 3D printing process. Among the several bioprintable materials, gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) has been widely utilized for diverse tissue engineering applications, with some degree of success. In this context, this review will discuss the key bioengineering approaches to identify the gelation and cross-linking strategies that are appropriate to control the rheology, printability, and buildability of biomaterial inks. This review will focus on the GelMA as the structural (scaffold) biomaterial for different tissues and as a potential carrier vehicle for the transport of living cells as well as their maintenance and viability in the physiological system. Recognizing the importance of printability toward shape fidelity and biophysical properties, a major focus in this review has been to discuss the qualitative and quantitative impact of the key factors, including microrheological, viscoelastic, gelation, shear thinning properties of biomaterial inks, and printing parameters, in particular, reference to 3D extrusion printing of GelMA-based biomaterial inks. Specifically, we emphasize the different possibilities to regulate mechanical, swelling, biodegradation, and cellular functionalities of GelMA-based bio(material) inks, by hybridization techniques, including different synthetic and natural biopolymers, inorganic nanofillers, and microcarriers. At the close, the potential possibility of the integration of experimental data sets and artificial intelligence/machine learning approaches is emphasized to predict the printability, shape fidelity, or biophysical properties of GelMA bio(material) inks for clinically relevant tissues.

Role of pH and Crosslinking Ions on Cell Viability and Metabolic Activity in Alginate-Gelatin 3D Prints

Alginate-gelatin hydrogels are extensively used in bioengineering. However, despite different formulations being used to grow different cell types in vitro, their pH and its effect, together with the crosslinking ions of these formulations, are still infrequently assessed. In this work, we study how these elements can affect hydrogel stability and printability and influence cell viability and metabolism on the resulting 3D prints. Our results show that both the buffer pH and crosslinking ion (Ca2+ or Ba2+) influence the swelling and degradation rates of prints. Moreover, buffer pH influenced the printability of hydrogel in the air but did not when printed directly in a fluid-phase CaCl2 or BaCl2 crosslinking bath. In addition, both U2OS and NIH/3T3 cells showed greater cell metabolic activity on one-layer prints crosslinked with Ca2+. In addition, Ba2+ increased the cell death of NIH/3T3 cells while having no effect on U2OS cell viability. The pH of the buffer also had an important impact on the cell behavior. U2OS cells showed a 2.25-fold cell metabolism increase on one-layer prints prepared at pH 8.0 in comparison to those prepared at pH 5.5, whereas NIH/3T3 cells showed greater metabolism on one-layer prints with pH 7.0. Finally, we observed a difference in the cell arrangement of U2OS cells growing on prints prepared from hydrogels with an acidic buffer in comparison to cells growing on those prepared using a neutral or basic buffer. These results show that both pH and the crosslinking ion influence hydrogel strength and cell behavior.

3D Printing Approaches to Engineer Cardiac Tissue

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Bioengineering of functional cardiac tissue composed of primary cardiomyocytes has great potential for myocardial regeneration and in vitro tissue modeling. 3D bioprinting was developed to create cardiac tissue in hydrogels that can mimic the structural, physiological, and functional features of native myocardium. Through a detailed review of the 3D printing technologies and bioink materials used in the creation of a heart tissue, this article discusses the potential of engineered heart tissues in biomedical applications.

RECENT FINDINGS

In this review, we discussed the recent progress in 3D bioprinting strategies for cardiac tissue engineering, including bioink and 3D bioprinting methods as well as examples of engineered cardiac tissue such as in vitro cardiac models and vascular channels. 3D printing is a powerful tool for creating in vitro cardiac tissues that are structurally and functionally similar to real tissues. The use of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM) enables the generation of patient-specific tissues. These tissues have the potential to be used for regenerative therapies, disease modeling, and drug testing.

Fiber Thickness and Porosity Control in a Biopolymer Scaffold 3D Printed through a Converted Commercial FDM Device

3D printing has opened exciting new opportunities for the in vitro fabrication of biocompatible hybrid pseudo-tissues. Technologies based on additive manufacturing herald a near future when patients will receive therapies delivering functional tissue substitutes for the repair of their musculoskeletal tissue defects. In particular, bone tissue engineering (BTE) might extensively benefit from such an approach. However, designing an optimal 3D scaffold with adequate stiffness and biodegradability properties also guaranteeing the correct cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, is still a challenge. The aim of this work was the rewiring of a commercial fuse deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer into a 3D bioplotter, aiming at obtaining scaffold fiber thickness and porosity control during its manufacturing. Although it is well-established that FDM is a fast and low-price technology, the high temperatures required for printing lead to limitations in the biomaterials that can be used. In our hands, modifying the printing head of the FDM device with a custom-made holder has allowed to print hydrogels commonly used for embedding living cells. The results highlight a good resolution, reproducibility and repeatability of alginate/gelatin scaffolds obtained via our custom 3D bioplotter prototype, showing a viable strategy to equip a small-medium laboratory with an instrument for manufacturing good-quality 3D scaffolds for cell culture and tissue engineering applications.

Liquid Metal Microgels for Three-Dimensional Printing of Smart Electronic Clothes

Gallium-based liquid metals (LMs), with the combination of liquid fluidity and metallic conductivity, are considered ideal conductive components for flexible electronics. However, huge surface tension and poor wettability seriously hinder the patterning of LMs and their wider applications. Herein, a recyclable liquid-metal-microgel (LMM) ink composed of LM droplets encapsulated into alginate microgel shells is proposed. During the mechanical stirring process, the released Ga³⁺ can cross-link with sodium alginate to form microgels covering the surface of LM droplets, which exhibits shear-thinning performance due to the formation and rupture of hydrogen bonds under different stress conditions, making the LMM ink possess excellent printability and superior adhesion to various substrates. Although patterns printed with the LMM ink are not initially conductive, they can be activated to recover conductivity by microstrain (<5%), pressing, and freezing. Additionally, the activated LMM circuit exhibits superior Joule heating behaviors and electrical performance in further investigation, including excellent conductivity, significant resistance response to strain with small hysteresis, great durability to nonplanar forces, and so forth. Furthermore, smart electronic clothes were fabricated and investigated by directly printing functional circuits on commercial clothes with the LMM ink, which integrate multiple functions, including tactile sensing, motion monitoring, human-computer interaction, and thermal management.

3D Printing of Alginate-Natural Clay Hydrogel-Based Nanocomposites

Biocompatibility, biodegradability, shear tinning behavior, quick gelation and an easy crosslinking process makes alginate one of the most studied polysaccharides in the field of regenerative medicine. The main purpose of this study was to obtain tissue-like materials suitable for use in bone regeneration. In this respect, alginate and several types of clay were investigated as components of 3D-printing, nanocomposite inks. Using the extrusion-based nozzle, the nanocomposites inks were printed to obtain 3D multilayered scaffolds. To observe the behavior induced by each type of clay on alginate-based inks, rheology studies were performed on composite inks. The structure of the nanocomposites samples was examined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), while the morphology of the 3D-printed scaffolds was evaluated using Electron Microscopy (SEM, TEM) and Micro-Computed Tomography (Micro-CT). The swelling and dissolvability of each composite scaffold in phosfate buffer solution were followed as function of time. Biological studies indicated that the cells grew in the presence of the alginate sample containing unmodified clay, and were able to proliferate and generate calcium deposits in MG-63 cells in the absence of specific signaling molecules. This study provides novel information on potential manufacturing methods for obtaining nanocomposite hydrogels suitable for 3D printing processes, as well as valuable information on the clay type selection for enabling accurate 3D-printed constructs. Moreover, this study constitutes the first comprehensive report related to the screening of several natural clays for the additive manufacturing of 3D constructs designed for bone reconstruction therapy.

Current Trends on Protein Driven Bioinks for 3D Printing

In the last decade, three-dimensional (3D) extrusion bioprinting has been on the top trend for innovative technologies in the field of biomedical engineering. In particular, protein-based bioinks such as collagen, gelatin, silk fibroin, elastic, fibrin and protein complexes based on decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) are receiving increasing attention. This current interest is the result of protein's tunable properties, biocompatibility, environmentally friendly nature and possibility to provide cells with the adequate cues, mimicking the extracellular matrix's function. In this review we describe the most relevant stages of the development of a protein-driven bioink. The most popular formulations, molecular weights and extraction methods are covered. The different crosslinking methods used in protein bioinks, the formulation with other polymeric systems or molecules of interest as well as the bioprinting settings are herein highlighted. The cell embedding procedures, the in vitro, in vivo, in situ studies and final applications are also discussed. Finally, we approach the development and optimization of bioinks from a sequential perspective, discussing the relevance of each parameter during the pre-processing, processing, and post-processing stages of technological development. Through this approach the present review expects to provide, in a sequential manner, helpful methodological guidelines for the development of novel bioinks.

3D bioprinting of a cell-laden antibacterial polysaccharide hydrogel composite

Bioink with inherent antibacterial activity is of particular interest for tissue engineering application due to the growing number of bacterial infections associated with impaired wound healing or bone implants. However, the development of cell-laden bioink with potent antibacterial activity while supporting tissue regeneration proved to be challenging. Here, we introduced a cell-laden antibacterial bioink based on Methylcellulose/Alginate (MC/Alg) hydrogel for skin tissue engineering via elimination of the risks associated with a bacterial infection. The key feature of the bioink is the use of gallium (Ga⁺³) in the design of bioink formulation with dual functions. First, Ga⁺³ stabilized the hydrogel bioink by the formation of ionic crosslinking with Alg chains. Second, the gallium-crosslinked bioink exhibited potent antibacterial activity toward both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria with a bactericidal rate of 99.99 %. In addition, it was found that the developed bioink supported encapsulated fibroblast cellular functions.

Assessment of Naturally Sourced Mineral Clays for the 3D Printing of Biopolymer-Based Nanocomposite Inks

The present study investigated the possibility of obtaining 3D printed composite constructs using biomaterial-based nanocomposite inks. The biopolymeric matrix consisted of methacrylated gelatin (GelMA). Several types of nanoclay were added as the inorganic component. Our aim was to investigate the influence of clay type on the rheological behavior of ink formulations and to determine the morphological and structural properties of the resulting crosslinked hydrogel-based nanomaterials. Moreover, through the inclusion of nanoclays, our goal was to improve the printability and shape fidelity of nanocomposite scaffolds. The viscosity of all ink formulations was greater in the presence of inorganic nanoparticles as shear thinning occurred with increased shear rate. Hydrogel nanocomposites presented predominantly elastic rather than viscous behavior as the materials were crosslinked which led to improved mechanical properties. The inclusion of nanoclays in the biopolymeric matrix limited hydrogel swelling due the physical barrier effect but also because of the supplementary crosslinks induced by the clay layers. The distribution of inorganic filler within the GelMA-based hydrogels led to higher porosities as a consequence of their interaction with the biopolymeric ink. The present study could be useful for the development of soft nanomaterials foreseen for the additive manufacturing of customized implants for tissue engineering.

Printability in extrusion bioprinting

Extrusion bioprinting has been widely used to extrude continuous filaments of bioink (or the mixture of biomaterial and living cells), layer-by-layer, to build three-dimensional (3D) constructs for biomedical applications. In extrusion bioprinting, printability is an important parameter used to measure the difference between the designed construct and the one actually printed. This difference could be caused by the extrudability of printed bioink and/or the structural formability and stability of printed constructs. Although studies have reported in characterizing printability based on the bioink properties and printing process, the concept of printability is often confusingly and, sometimes, conflictingly used in the literature. The objective of this perspective is to define the printability for extrusion bioprinting in terms of extrudability, filament fidelity, and structural integrity, as well as to review the effect of bioink properties, bioprinting process, and construct design on the printability. Challenges related to the printability of extrusion bioprinting are also discussed, along with recommendations for improvements.

Hydrogels: The Next Generation Body Materials for Microfluidic Chips?

The integration of microfluidics with biomedical research is confronted with considerable limitations due to its body materials. With high content of water, hydrogels own superior biocompatibility and degradability. Can hydrogels become another material choice for the construction of microfluidic chips, particularly biofluidics? The present review aims to systematically establish the concept of hydrogel-based microfluidic chips (HMCs) and address three main concerns: i) why choosing hydrogels? ii) how to fabricate HMCs?, and iii) in which fields to apply HMCs? It is envisioned that hydrogels may be used increasingly as substitute for traditional materials and gradually act as the body material for microfluidic chips. The modifications of conventional process are highlighted to overcome issues arising from the incompatibility between the construction methods and hydrogel materials. Specifically targeting at the "soft and wet" hydrogels, an efficient flowchart of "i) high resolution template printing; ii) damage-free demolding; iii) twice-crosslinking bonding" is proposed. Accordingly, a broader microfluidic chip concept is proposed in terms of form and function. Potential biomedical applications of HMCs are discussed. This review also highlights the challenges arising from the material replacement, as well as the future directions of the proposed concept. Finally, the authors' viewpoints and perspectives for this emerging field are discussed.

Grafting of 3D Bioprinting to In Vitro Drug Screening: A Review

The inadequacy of conventional cell-monolayer planar cultures and animal experiments in predicting the toxicity and clinical efficacy of drug candidates has led to an imminent need for in vitro methods with the ability to better represent in vivo conditions and facilitate the systematic investigation of drug candidates. Recent advances in 3D bioprinting have prompted the precise manipulation of cells and biomaterials, rendering it a promising technology for the construction of in vitro tissue/organ models and drug screening devices. This review presents state-of-the-art in vitro methods used for preclinical drug screening and discusses the limitations of these methods. In particular, the significance of constructing 3D in vitro tissue/organ models and microfluidic analysis devices for drug screening is emphasized, and a focus is placed on the grafting process of 3D bioprinting technology to the construction of such models and devices. The in vitro methods for drug screening are generalized into three types: mini-tissue, organ-on-a-chip, and tissue/organ construct. The revolutionary process of the in vitro methods is demonstrated in detail, and relevant studies are listed as examples. Specifically, the tumor model is adopted as a precedent to illustrate the possible grafting of 3D bioprinting to antitumor drug screening.

Bioprinting 101: Design, Fabrication, and Evaluation of Cell-Laden 3D Bioprinted Scaffolds

3D bioprinting is an additive manufacturing technique that recapitulates the native architecture of tissues. This is accomplished through the precise deposition of cell-containing bioinks. The spatiotemporal control over bioink deposition permits for improved communication between cells and the extracellular matrix, facilitates fabrication of anatomically and physiologically relevant structures. The physiochemical properties of bioinks, before and after crosslinking, are crucial for bioprinting complex tissue structures. Specifically, the rheological properties of bioinks determines printability, structural fidelity, and cell viability during the printing process, whereas postcrosslinking of bioinks are critical for their mechanical integrity, physiological stability, cell survival, and cell functions. In this review, we critically evaluate bioink design criteria, specifically for extrusion-based 3D bioprinting techniques, to fabricate complex constructs. The effects of various processing parameters on the biophysical and biochemical characteristics of bioinks are discussed. Furthermore, emerging trends and future directions in the area of bioinks and bioprinting are also highlighted. Graphical abstract [Figure: see text] Impact statement Extrusion-based 3D bioprinting is an emerging additive manufacturing approach for fabricating cell-laden tissue engineered constructs. This review critically evaluates bioink design criteria to fabricate complex tissue constructs. Specifically, pre- and post-printing evaluation approaches are described, as well as new research directions in the field of bioink development and functional bioprinting are highlighted.