Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) printing is regarded as a critical technology in material engineering for biomedical applications. From a previous report, silk fibroin (SF) has been used as a biomaterial for tissue engineering due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity and robust mechanical properties which provide a potential as material for 3D-printing. In this study, SF-based hydrogels with different formulations and SF concentrations (1–3%wt) were prepared by natural gelation (SF/self-gelled), sodium tetradecyl sulfate-induced (SF/STS) and dimyristoyl glycerophosphorylglycerol-induced (SF/DMPG). From the results, 2%wt SF-based (2SF) hydrogels showed suitable properties for extrusion, such as storage modulus, shear-thinning behavior and degree of structure recovery. The 4-layer box structure of all 2SF-based hydrogel formulations could be printed without structural collapse. In addition, the mechanical stability of printed structures after three-step post-treatment was investigated. The printed structure of 2SF/STS and 2SF/DMPG hydrogels exhibited high stability with high degree of structure recovery as 70.4% and 53.7%, respectively, compared to 2SF/self-gelled construct as 38.9%. The 2SF/STS and 2SF/DMPG hydrogels showed a great potential to use as material for 3D-printing due to its rheological properties, printability and structure stability.
Highlights
Three-dimensional-printing technology has attracted considerable attention as a promising tool for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine [1]
It can be observed that the gelation time of both silk fibroin (SF)/sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS) and SF/dimyristoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phospho-(1 -rac-glycerol) (DMPG) hydrogels decreased with an increasing SF concentration
SF-based hydrogel with different formulations were studied their properties to use as material for 3D-printing
Summary
Three-dimensional-printing technology has attracted considerable attention as a promising tool for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine [1]. Structural-complex scaffolds can be precisely designed using software and fabricated in a high resolution using a layer manufacture. The development of printable material is one of the critical parts in 3D-printing researches [2]. The critical features required for printable materials are biocompatibility, bioactivity, biodegradation and mechanical stability [3,4]. The material should be able to encapsulate cells and maintain cell viability for long-term tissue culture. Natural-derived polymers are attractive candidates to be applied as bioink
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