Performance Comparison of PVA/SA Composite Hydrogels for 3D Printing of Cartilage Scaffolds with Different Compositions

Abstract

Physical blend is the method always used to modify the properties of composite hydrogels for 3D printing in tissue engineering. In this paper, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blending with sodium alginate (SA) was applied to enhance the mechanical properties of SA. The PVA/SA blending hydrogels with different components (5:5, 4:6, 3:7, 2:8, 1:9, and 0:10) were prepared through cross-linking method, and their properties were studied from microstructure, mechanical property, hydrophilicity, and printability, so the optimal composition ratio of the composite hydrogel can be selected for 3D printing cartilage scaffold. Results show that with PVA increasing in composite hydrogel, the pore size of the composite hydrogel becomes smaller and more even. The tensile strength and toughness of PVA/SA hydrogels increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of PVA content, and the composite hydrogel of 2PVA/8AS has the best tensile strength. Moreover, the water content and printability of hydrogels decrease with the increase of PVA, which is in good agreement with the pore structures of hydrogels. Based on the above results, we believe that 8AS/2PVA blend hydrogel is the most suitable for 3D printing cartilage scaffolds.