3D-bioprinted double-crosslinked angiogenic alginate/chondroitin sulfate patch for diabetic wound healing

Improving chronic wound healing remains a challenge in the clinical practice. In this study, we developed double-crosslinked angiogenic 3D-bioprinted patches for diabetic wound healing by the photocovalent crosslinking of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) using ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. 3D printing technology can precisely customize the structure and composition of patches to meet different clinical requirements. The biological polysaccharide alginate and chondroitin sulfate methacryloyl were used as biomaterials to construct the biological patch, which could be crosslinked using calcium ion crosslinking and photocrosslinking, thereby improving its mechanical properties. More importantly, acrylylated VEGF could be easily and rapidly photocrosslinked under UV irradiation, which simplified the step of chemically coupling growth factors and prolonged VEGF release time. These characteristics suggest that 3D-bioprinted double-crosslinked angiogenic patches are ideal candidates for diabetic wound healing and other tissue engineering applications.