3D Bio-Printability of Hybrid Pre-Crosslinked Hydrogels

Integration of Hydrogels and 3D Bioprinting Technologies for Chronic Wound Healing Management

The integration of hydrogel-based bioinks with 3D bioprinting technologies presents an innovative approach to chronic wound management, which is particularly challenging to treat because of its multifactorial nature and high risk of complications. Using precise deposition techniques, 3D bioprinting significantly alters traditional wound care paradigms by enabling the fabrication of patient-specific wound dressings that imitate natural tissue properties. Hydrogels are notably beneficial for these applications because of their abundant water content and mechanical properties, which promote cell viability and pathophysiological processes of wound healing, such as re-epithelialization and angiogenesis. This article reviews key 3D printing technologies and their significance in enhancing the structural and functional outcomes of wound-care solutions. Challenges in bioink viscosity, cell viability, and printability are addressed, along with discussions on the cross-linking and mechanical stability of the constructs. The potential of 3D bioprinting to revolutionize chronic wound management rests on its capacity to generate remedies that expedite healing and minimize infection risks. Nevertheless, further studies and clinical trials are necessary to advance these therapies from laboratory to clinical use.

An Exosome-Laden Hydrogel Wound Dressing That Can Be Point-of-Need Manufactured in Austere and Operational Environments

Skin wounds often form scar tissue during healing. Early intervention with tissue-engineered materials and cell therapies may promote scar-free healing. Exosomes and extracellular vesicles (EV) secreted by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are believed to have high regenerative capacity. EV bioactivity is preserved after lyophilization and storage to enable use in remote and typically resource-constrained environments. We developed a bioprinted bandage containing reconstituted EVs that can be fabricated at the point-of-need. An alginate/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) biomaterial ink was prepared, and printability and mechanical properties were assessed with rheology and compression testing. Three-dimensional printed constructs were evaluated for Young's modulus relative to infill density and crosslinking to yield material with stiffness suitable for use as a wound dressing. We purified EVs from human MSC-conditioned media and characterized them with nanoparticle tracking analysis and mass spectroscopy, which gave a peak size of 118 nm and identification of known EV proteins. Fluorescently labeled EVs were mixed to form bio-ink and bioprinted to characterize EV release. EV bandages were bioprinted on both a commercial laboratory bioprinter and a custom ruggedized 3D printer with bioprinting capabilities, and lyophilized EVs, biomaterial ink, and thermoplastic filament were deployed to an austere Arctic environment and bioprinted. This work demonstrates that EVs can be bioprinted with an alginate/CMC hydrogel and released over time when in contact with a skin-like substitute. The technology is suitable for operational medical applications, notably in resource-limited locations, including large-scale natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and combat zones.

Controlled dissolution of physically cross-linked locust bean gum - κ-carrageenan hydrogels

Most hydrogels swell but do not dissolve in water since their chains are tied to each other. Nevertheless, some hydrogels disintegrate under physiological conditions, a property that could be beneficial in emerging applications, including sacrificial materials, 3D bioprinting, and wound dressings. This paper proposes a novel approach to control the dissolution rate of hydrogels based on the integration of kappa carrageenan nanoparticles (KCAR-NPs) into kappa carrageenan (KCAR) and locust bean gum (LBG) hydrogels to obtain a three-component hybrid system. KCAR and LBG are known to have synergistic interactions, where physical interactions and chain entanglements lead to their gelation. We hypothesized that integrating the bulky nanoparticles would disturb the three-dimensional network formed by the polysaccharide chains and enable manipulating the dissolution rate. Compression, water absorption, rheology, and cryo-scanning electron microscopy measurements were performed to characterize the physical properties and structure of the hydrogels. The hybrid hydrogels displayed much faster dissolution rates than a control system without nanoparticles, which did not completely dissolve within 50 days and offered a cutting-edge means to finely adjust hydrogel dissolution through modulation of KCAR and KCAR-NPs concentrations. The new hydrogels also exhibited shear-thinning and self-healing properties resulting from the weak and reversible nature of the physical bonds.

Implantable, 3D-Printed Alginate Scaffolds with Bismuth Sulfide Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Local Breast Cancer via Enhanced Radiotherapy

Surgical removal of tumor tissue remains the primary clinical approach for addressing breast cancer; however, complete tumor excision is challenging, and the remaining tumor cells can lead to tumor recurrence and metastasis over time, which substantially deteriorates the life quality of the patients. With the aim to improve local cancer radiotherapy, this work reports the fabrication of alginate (Alg) scaffolds containing bovine serum albumin (BSA)-coated bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3@BSA) nanoradiosensitizers using three-dimensional (3D) printing. Under single-dose X-ray irradiation in vitro, Alg-Bi2S3@BSA scaffolds significantly increase the formation of reactive oxygen species, enhance the inhibition of breast cancer cells, and suppress their colony formation capacity. In addition, scaffolds implanted under tumor tissue in murine model show high therapeutic efficacy by reducing the tumor volume growth rate under single-dose X-ray irradiation, while histological observation of main organs reveals no cytotoxicity or side effects. 3D-printed Alg-Bi2S3@BSA scaffolds produced with biocompatible and biodegradable materials may potentially lower the recurrence and metastasis rates in breast cancer patients by inhibiting residual tumor cells following postsurgery as well as exhibit anticancer properties in other solid tumors.

Eucalyptus bleached kraft pulp-ionic liquid inks for 3D printing of ionogels and hydrogels

3D printing has been recently recognized as one of the most promising technologies due to the multiple options to fabricate cost-effective and customizable objects. However, the necessity to substitute fossil fuels as raw materials is increasing the research on bio-based inks with recyclable and eco-friendly properties. In this work, we formulated inks for the 3D printing of ionogels and hydrogels with bleached kraft pulp dissolved in [Emim][DMP] at different concentrations (1-4 wt%). We explored each ink's rheological properties and printability and compared the printability parameters with a commercial ink. The rheological results showed that the 3 % and 4 % cellulose-ionic liquid inks exhibited the best properties. Both had values of damping factor between 0.4 and 0.7 and values of yield stress between 1900 and 2500 Pa. Analyzing the printability, the 4 wt% ink was selected as the most promising because the printed ionogels and the hydrogels had the best print resolution and fidelity, similar to the reference ink. After printing, ionogels and hydrogels had values of the elastic modulus (G') between 10³ and 10⁴ Pa, and the ionogels are recyclables. Altogether, these 3D printed cellulose ionogels and hydrogels may have an opportunity in the electrochemical and medical fields, respectively.

Short Peptide-Based Smart Thixotropic Hydrogels †

Thixotropy is a fascinating feature present in many gel systems that has garnered a lot of attention in the medical field in recent decades. When shear stress is applied, the gel transforms into sol and immediately returns to its original state when resting. The thixotropic nature of the hydrogel has inspired scientists to entrap and release enzymes, therapeutics, and other substances inside the human body, where the gel acts as a drug reservoir and can sustainably release therapeutics. Furthermore, thixotropic hydrogels have been widely used in various therapeutic applications, including drug delivery, cornea regeneration and osteogenesis, to name a few. Because of their inherent biocompatibility and structural diversity, peptides are at the forefront of cutting-edge research in this context. This review will discuss the rational design and self-assembly of peptide-based thixotropic hydrogels with some representative examples, followed by their biomedical applications.

A Roadmap to Fabricate Geometrically Accurate Three-Dimensional Scaffolds CO-Printed by Natural and Synthetic Polymers

Three-dimensional bioprinting is a promising field in regenerating patient-specific tissues and organs due to its inherent capability of releasing biocompatible materials encapsulating living cells in a predefined location. Due to the diverse characteristics of tissues and organs in terms of microstructures and cell types, a multinozzle extrusion-based 3D bioprinting system has gained popularity. The investigations on interactions between various biomaterials and cell-to-material can provide relevant information about the scaffold geometry, cell viability, and proliferation. Natural hydrogels are frequently used in bioprinting materials because of their high-water content and biocompatibility. However, the dominancy of liquid characteristics of only-hydrogel materials makes the printing process challenging. Polycaprolactone (PCL) is the most frequently used synthetic biopolymer. It can provide mechanical integrity to achieve dimensionally accurate fabricated scaffolds, especially for hard tissues such as bone and cartilage scaffolds. In this paper, we explored various multimaterial bioprinting strategies with our recently proposed bio-inks and PCL intending to achieve dimensional accuracy and mechanical aspects. Various strategies were followed to coprint natural and synthetic biopolymers and interactions were analyzed between them. Printability of pure PCL with various molecular weights was optimized with respect to different process parameters such as nozzle temperature, printing pressure, printing speed, porosity, and bed temperature to coprint with natural hydrogels. The relationship between the rheological properties and shape fidelity of natural polymers was investigated with a set of printing strategies during coprinting with PCL. The successful application of this research can help achieve dimensionally accurate scaffolds.

Physical Modification of Hybrid Hydrogels to Fabricate Full-Scale Construct Using Three-Dimensional Bio-Printing Process

Bioprinting for regenerative medicine has been gaining a lot of popularity in today's world. Despite being one of the rigorously studied fields, there are still several challenges yet to be solved. Geometric fidelity and mechanical complexities stand as roadblocks when it comes to the printability of the customized constructs. Exploring the rheological properties of the compositions helps us understand the physical and mechanical properties of the biomaterials which are closely tied to the printability of the filament and eventually, geometric fidelity of the constructs. To ensure the structural integrity of the constructs, viscosity enhancers such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and crosslinkers like CaCl₂ and CaSO₄ were used. These crosslinkers can be used before (precrosslinking) and after (postcrosslinking) the extrusion of considered compositions to investigate and compare the outcome. To do this, mixtures of CMC (viscosity enhancer), Alginate, and CaCl₂ and CaSO₄ (crosslinkers) were prepared at various concentrations maintaining minimum solid content (≤8%). Each composition was subjected to a set of rheological tests like flow curve for shear thinning behavior, three points thixotropic for recovery rate, and amplitude test for gelation point. Various geometric fidelity identification tests were conducted and correlated with their physical properties. Some compositions were used to fabricate large-scale constructs (in cm-scale) to demonstrate their capability. This research is a thorough investigation of compositions when they are introduced to crosslinkers and viscosity enhancers which can be crucial for the 3D printing world.