A New Bioactive Glass-Based Hybrid Bioink With Enhanced Cell Viability and Antibacterial Properties

Recent advances in three-dimensional bioprinting (3DBP) technology enable the production of customized bone substitutes. However, osteoconductive materials in their particulate phase may damage cells during extrusion resulting in poor cell viability after 3DBP. We developed a cell-friendly, osteopromotive, and antibacterial-based bioink. To achieve this, we combined gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) with an Ag-doped bioactive glass-ceramic (Ag-BaG) on the molecular level with (3-Glycidoxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) to deliver a GelMA-AgBaG (GAB) hybrid material and compared its characteristics with GelMA and a GelMA-AgBaG blend nanocomposite. Elemental homogeneity was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) in GAB. Rheological studies exhibited strong shear-thinning and high storage moduli. The swelling and degradation behavior up to 30 days demonstrated the materials' applicability for short-term applications. The cytocompatibility of GAB, along with its antibacterial properties, was observed, with only 2% of cell death compared to 5% for the pure GelMA, and about 35% for the blend (GelMA-Ag-BaGNPs), according to the post-extrusion cell viability. Extruded constructs and bioprinted scaffolds showed metabolic activity and cell viability over time, with the cell-laden GAB presenting improved cell viability when compared to GelMA and the nanocomposite blend. Thus, hybrid material GAB possesses advanced multifunctional characteristics suggesting GAB as attractive biomaterial for tissue regeneration.