3D Printing GelMA/PVA Interpenetrating Polymer Networks Scaffolds Mediated with CuO Nanoparticles for Angiogenesis

Biocompatible hydrogels have been considered one of the most well-known and promising in various materials used in the fabrication of tissue-engineering scaffolds. Although considerable progress has been made in recent decades, many limitations remain, such as poor mechanical and degradation properties of biomaterials. In addition, vascularization of tissue-engineering scaffold is an enduring challenge, which limited the fabrication and application of scaffold with clinically relevant dimension. To cover these challenges, in this work, a novel nanocomposite interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) hydrogel scaffold consists of methacrylated gelatin (GelMA), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) is fabricated by extrusion-based 3D printing. A series of physiochemical and biological characterizations of the nanocomposite GelMA/PVA scaffolds are performed. Results showed that the mechanical and degradation properties of the nanocomposite GelMA/PVA scaffolds are obviously improved compared to GelMA scaffolds with single network. In vitro cell experiments and chick embryo angiogenesis (CEA) assay confirmed good cytocompatibility of the fabricated scaffold and its potential to promote cell migration and angiogenesis. In conclusion, altogether the results demonstrated that GelMA/PVA IPN scaffolds modified with CuONPs have great potential for fabrication of volumetric scaffolds and promote angiogenesis during tissue growth and repair.