Photocurable Alginate Bioink Development for Cartilage Replacement Bioprinting

摘要

Bioink design and assessment for tissue engineering replacement is a key topic of research. This article investigates suitable photocurable alginate bioink precursors for bioprinting and the fabrication of 3D constructs for cartilage replacements. Alginate chemically modified with methacrylate anhydride groups is considered and assessed using different techniques. 2% Alginate methacrylate (AlgMA) solutions containing different concentrations of methacrylate and different reaction times were investigated. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results show the ability to tune the unsaturation degree by changing the reaction conditions. Rheological characterization results show that all alginate methacrylate precursor solutions exhibit a shear thinning behavior. Biocompatibility and cytotoxicity results were no cytotoxicity was observed.