Abstract
Three-dimensional bioprinting can fabricate precisely controlled 3D tissue constructs. This process uses bioinks—specially tailored materials that support the survival of incorporated cells—to produce tissue constructs. The properties of bioinks, such as stiffness and porosity, should mimic those found in desired tissues to support specialized cell types. Previous studies by our group validated soft substrates for neuronal cultures using neural cells derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). It is important to confirm that these bioprinted tissues possess mechanical properties similar to native neural tissues. Here, we assessed the physical and mechanical properties of bioprinted constructs generated from our novel microsphere containing bioink. We measured the elastic moduli of bioprinted constructs with and without microspheres using a modified Hertz model. The storage and loss modulus, viscosity, and shear rates were also measured. Physical properties such as microstructure, porosity, swelling, and biodegradability were also analyzed. Our results showed that the elastic modulus of constructs with microspheres was 1032 ± 59.7 Pascal (Pa), and without microspheres was 728 ± 47.6 Pa. Mechanical strength and printability were significantly enhanced with the addition of microspheres. Thus, incorporating microspheres provides mechanical reinforcement, which indicates their suitability for future applications in neural tissue engineering.
Highlights
Three-dimensional bioprinting uses cell-laden bioinks to fabricate tissue constructs, often in a layer-by-layer process [1,2]
The bioprinting system takes the details provided in a digital file to produce the shape and structure of the bioprinted constructs, which can be used for a variety of applications, such as drug screening and regenerative medicine [3,4]
The indentation depth caused by the mass of the indenter was determined by XZ- and YZ-cross-section images of the constructs
Summary
Three-dimensional bioprinting uses cell-laden bioinks to fabricate tissue constructs, often in a layer-by-layer process [1,2]. The bioinks used should have high biocompatibility, slow degradability, and tunable mechanical properties [5]. A biocompatible bioink should result in high cell viability, proliferation, adhesion, migration, and differentiation into mature tissues [6]. The mechanical properties of the bioink play an important role in maintaining the desired tissue shape after bioprinting and influence the behavior of cells seeded inside the bioprinted construct [3,7,8,9]. Achieving the desired print resolution for the bioprinted construct depends on the rheological properties of bioinks [10,11,12,13]. Bioinks should possess appropriate rheological, mechanical, biocompatible, and biofunctional properties for the target tissue [6,14].
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