Dual crosslinking strategy to generate mechanically viable cell-laden printable constructs using methacrylated...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Bioprinting

Background:

• Methacrylated collagen (CMA) enables high-resolution 3D bioprinting.
• Photochemically crosslinked CMA scaffolds exhibit poor mechanical strength and rapid degradation.
• A need exists for mechanically robust and biocompatible 3D bioprinted scaffolds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a dual crosslinking strategy for mechanically viable, cell-laden, printable CMA hydrogels.
• To assess the impact of dual crosslinking on scaffold properties and cell behavior.
• To optimize CMA hydrogel properties for tissue engineering applications.

Main Methods:

• CMA hydrogels were fabricated using photopolymerization with VA-086.
• Dual crosslinking involved photochemical crosslinking followed by genipin treatment (0.5 mM or 1 mM).
• Scaffold morphology, mechanical properties, degradation, print fidelity, cell viability, and metabolic activity were evaluated.

Main Results:

• Dual crosslinking maintained gel morphology and significantly improved compressive modulus and degradation time.
• Low dual crosslinking (0.5 mM genipin) resulted in >80% cell viability and high metabolic activity.
• High dual crosslinking (1 mM genipin) significantly reduced cell viability and metabolic activity.
• Print fidelity, including line widths and pore size, was preserved in dual crosslinked constructs.

Conclusions:

• Low dual crosslinking is a viable strategy to produce mechanically superior, cell-compatible, and printable CMA hydrogels.
• This approach addresses the limitations of purely photochemically crosslinked CMA scaffolds.
• The developed dual crosslinking method shows promise for advanced tissue engineering applications.