Synthesis and Characterization of Types A and B Gelatin Methacryloyl for Bioink Applications.

Nathaniel Lum,Li Seow,Lay Tan,Bae Lee,Pei Lim

doi:10.3390/ma9100797

Nathaniel Lum, Li Seow + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9100797

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Abstract

Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) has been increasingly considered as an important bioink material due to its tailorable mechanical properties, good biocompatibility, and ability to be photopolymerized in situ as well as printability. GelMA can be classified into two types: type A GelMA (a product from acid treatment) and type B GelMA (a product from alkali treatment). In current literature, there is little research on the comparison of type A GelMA and type B GelMA in terms of synthesis, rheological properties, and printability for bioink applications. Here, we report the synthesis, rheological properties, and printability of types A and B GelMA. Types A and B GelMA samples with different degrees of substitution (DS) were prepared in a controllable manner by a time-lapse loading method of methacrylic anhydride (MAA) and different feed ratios of MAA to gelatin. Type B GelMA tended to have a slightly higher DS compared to type A GelMA, especially in a lower feed ratio of MAA to gelatin. All the type A and type B GelMA solutions with different DS exhibited shear thinning behaviours at 37 °C. However, only GelMA with a high DS had an easy-to-extrude feature at room temperature. The cell-laden printed constructs of types A and B GelMA at 20% w/v showed around 75% cell viability.

Highlights

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is the new cutting edge technology that has been developed rapidly for various applications such as bioprinting [1,2,3]
A common method for bioprinting is through an extrusion technique, where a mixture of viscous cell-supportive materials and biologically active components including cells is dispensed onto a substrate [10,11,12,13,14]
Type A Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) 2.2 (94.9% degrees of substitution (DS)) at 30% exhibited 67.6 kPa storage modulus whereas type B GelMA 2.2 (94.9% DS) at 30% exhibited 147.3 kPa storage modulus (p < 0.01, n = 3)

Summary

Introduction

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is the new cutting edge technology that has been developed rapidly for various applications such as bioprinting [1,2,3]. As 3D printing technology evolves, an increasing number of materials such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, photo-curable resins, and even stainless steel have been developed and used along for manufacturing all forms of complex delicate building blocks. This development of 3D printing has gained much attention from various industries because of its ability to fabricate high-precision products and reduce the product design cycle for various industries [4,5]. An organ can be regenerated and the chance of patients receiving an organ transplant will increase

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