A functional bioink and its application in myoblast alignment and differentiation

Abstract

A biomimetic hydrogel material (collagen) that provides favorable cellular microenvironment, has been widely used as a potential bioink for regeneration of various tissues. Topographical cue is a crucial factor for regeneration of different tissues, including skeletal muscles, as it can directly affect myoblast differentiation. This study reports the fabrication of cell-laden collagen structures that have uniaxially aligned topographical cues using an extrusion-based cell printing and collagen fibrillation process. The aligned bundles of collagen fibrils generated using this process can be manipulated by changing applied shear stress within a nozzle, nozzle moving speed, and weight fraction of collagen. High degree of cell-alignment and efficient differentiation were observed after the fabrication and culturing of myoblast (C2C12)-laden collagen scaffolds. To expand the utility of the functional cell-laden structure, the alignment of multi-layered structures with cardiomyocytes (H9C2), preosteoblasts (MC3T3-E1), and human adipose stem cells (hASC) laden in the collagen bioink was evaluated. Results show that the combined process of the cell-printing and collagen fibrillation for generating aligned cells can provide a new potential platform for efficient formation of three-dimensional biophysically functional tissues.