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Updated: Nov 4, 2025
Printing Thermoresponsive Reverse Molds for the Creation of Patterned Two-component Hydrogels for 3D Cell Culture
Published on: July 10, 2013
Freeze-Casting with 3D-Printed Templates Creates Anisotropic Microchannels and Patterned Macrochannels within
Johnson V John1, Alec McCarthy1, Hongjun Wang1
1Department of Surgery-Transplant and Mary & Dick Holland Regenerative Medicine Program, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA.
Abstract:
A new approach is described for fabricating 3D poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)/gelatin (1:1) nanofiber aerogels with patterned macrochannels and anisotropic microchannels by freeze-casting with 3D-printed sacrificial templates. Single layer or multiple layers of macrochannels are formed through an inverse replica of 3D-printed templates. Aligned microchannels formed by partially anisotropic freezing act as interconnected pores between templated macrochannels. The resulting macro-/microchannels within nanofiber aerogels significantly increase preosteoblast infiltration in vitro. The conjugation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mimicking QK peptide to PCL/gelatin/gelatin methacryloyl (1:0.5:0.5) nanofiber aerogels with patterned macrochannels promotes the formation of a microvascular network of seeded human microvascular endothelial cells. Moreover, nanofiber aerogels with patterned macrochannels and anisotropic microchannels show significantly enhanced cellular infiltration rates and host tissue integration compared to aerogels without macrochannels following subcutaneous implantation in rats. Taken together, this novel class of nanofiber aerogels holds great potential in biomedical applications including tissue repair and regeneration, wound healing, and 3D tissue/disease modeling.
