Evaluation of Hydrogels Based on Oxidized Hyaluronic Acid for Bioprinting.

Matthias Weis,Junwen Shan,Matthias Kuhlmann,Jörg Tessmar,Tomasz Jungst,Jürgen Groll

doi:10.3390/gels4040082

Abstract

In this study, we evaluate hydrogels based on oxidized hyaluronic acid, cross-linked with adipic acid dihydrazide, for their suitability as bioinks for 3D bioprinting. Aldehyde containing hyaluronic acid (AHA) is synthesized and cross-linked via Schiff Base chemistry with bifunctional adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) to form a mechanically stable hydrogel with good printability. Mechanical and rheological properties of the printed and casted hydrogels are tunable depending on the concentrations of AHA and ADH cross-linkers.

Highlights

Hydrogels based on polysaccharides have attracted a high level of attention in recent decades, especially in the fields of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine [1,2,3,4]
Thiol-ene chemistry has been used successfully to develop a hydrogel system based on thiol-functionalized hyaluronic acid together with allyl-functionalized poly(glycidol)s, which can be cast as a cell carrier hydrogel and bioprinted, allowing a generation of better defined 3D hydrogel constructs [9]
Compositions based on highhigh molecular weight (HMW)-Aldehyde containing hyaluronic acid (AHA)-2.0 could be used for printing, since HMW-AHA-2.0 offers moderate

Summary

Introduction

Hydrogels based on polysaccharides have attracted a high level of attention in recent decades, especially in the fields of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine [1,2,3,4]. Thiol-ene chemistry has been used successfully to develop a hydrogel system based on thiol-functionalized hyaluronic acid together with allyl-functionalized poly(glycidol)s, which can be cast as a cell carrier hydrogel and bioprinted, allowing a generation of better defined 3D hydrogel constructs [9]. The group of Boccaccini introduced an oxidized alginate/gelatin-based hydrogel system for bioprinting. The aldehyde functionalities of the oxidized alginate were used for secondary cross-linking with the amino functions of gelatin using Schiff Base chemistry [10]. The Schiff Base chemistry provides a reversible reaction of an aldehyde with an amine, followed by elimination of water to form the final imine, which is still labile to hydrolysis

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion