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Published on: July 2, 2018
Advanced alginate/58S bioactive glass inks with enhanced printability, mechanical strength, and cytocompatibility for
Indrajeet Singh1, Santosh T R B Rao2, Helen R Irving2
1Advanced Polymer and Composite Materials Laboratory, Department of Engineering, School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, La Trobe University, Bendigo, VIC 3550, Australia; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (208016), India.
This study developed a novel sodium alginate/bioactive glass hydrogel ink for bioprinting. The enhanced ink shows improved printability, mechanical strength, and cell viability for soft tissue engineering.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
- Bioprinting Technology
Background:
- Alginate hydrogels are limited in bioprinting due to poor mechanical properties and printability.
- Developing advanced biomaterials is crucial for mimicking complex tissues and organs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and characterize a novel sodium alginate (Alg)/58S bioactive glass (BG) ink for soft tissue engineering applications.
- To enhance the mechanical properties, printability, and cytocompatibility of alginate-based hydrogels for bioprinting.
Main Methods:
- Formulation of sodium alginate/58S bioactive glass (Alg/BG) inks.
- Characterization of rheological properties (shear-thinning, flowability) and printability (printing accuracy).
- Assessment of mechanical properties (storage modulus, compressive strength) and cytocompatibility (MTT assay with SH-SY5Y cells).
Main Results:
- The ABG10 ink (10 wt% 58S BG in Alg) demonstrated superior printability (>90% accuracy) compared to pure Alg (30-40%).
- Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy confirmed interactions and morphology of BG within the Alg matrix.
- Storage modulus increased significantly (767 Pa to 13,604 Pa) and compressive strength enhanced by 58% (23 kPa to 43 kPa).
- ABG10 ink supported cell viability, confirmed by MTT assay.
Conclusions:
- The novel Alg/BG hydrogel ink exhibits enhanced shear-thinning behavior, printability, mechanical strength, and cytocompatibility.
- This biomaterial shows significant potential for developing patient-specific soft tissues through bioprinting.
- The integration of bioactive glass effectively overcomes the limitations of pure alginate hydrogels in tissue engineering applications.
