Preparation of a Photocured Biocompatible Hydrogel for Urethral Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Although studies have showed that synthetic hydrogels have the potential to be used in tissue engineering, the rapid three-dimensional (3D) molding of hydrogels with good biocompatibility is still a major challenge for researchers. In this paper, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate is used as a hydrophilic monomer to be cured with visible light. Combined with natural gel network sodium alginate to form a composite hydrogel, the mechanical properties, equilibrium water content, and cytotoxicity of the composite hydrogel were studied, and 3D printing of the hydrogel was attempted. Then, the feasibility of using the hydrogel in urethral tissue engineering was evaluated. The results confirmed that through the composite photoinitiator system, the visible-light curing of the poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (p-HEMA) hydrogel under 405 nm light was realized. After adding sodium alginate, the light curing efficiency, mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and other properties of the p-HEMA hydrogel were improved. The 3D printing of the p-HEMA hydrogel was realized by using a simple and portable direct ink writing 3D printing pen. The urethral experiment preliminarily confirmed that both hydrogels had positive effects on urethral defect repair.