Biomaterials for Bioprinting : Top 5 Materials!
Biomaterials act as the glue between fabrication approaches and biological cellular components. They play a pivotal role in enabling the creation of complex structures. The combination of the right material, along with cells and additives, forms the bioink—a crucial component for successful 3D bioprinting. This highlights the significance of biomaterials for bioprinting. They serve as the foundation for the precise replication of biological tissues and organs.
Choosing the right biomaterial is very important. It needs to be understood that not all biomaterials are suitable as bioinks for bioprinting.
Exploring the vast world of bioink can feel pretty overwhelming, especially for those just starting out with bioprinting projects. To help out, we’ve put together a list of five amazing biomaterials for bioprinting. These are known for being super versatile, working well with different types of cells, and having some cool features. These materials are like the building blocks that can take bioprinting to some really exciting places
1. Pluronic 127: Innovative Support Biomaterial
Introducing Pluronic 127, also known as Poloxamer 407. It’s a thermoresponsive synthetic copolymer that has gained widespread popularity in bioprinting and tissue engineering due to its unique properties. Despite lacking cell binding sites in its structure, Pluronic 127 holds a prominent position in bioprinting. This is thanks to its micellar-packing gelation property, which allows for easy movement and shifting. Its broad sol-gel transition range of 10-40°C makes it highly stable at both room temperature and human body temperature.
One of the significant advantages of Pluronic 127 is its ability to provide stability to bioinks that lack the necessary rheological properties to maintain their 3D shape after printing until crosslinking occurs.
If you are looking for a way to create vascular structures, then Pluronic should be at the top of your game. Its gelation mechanism creates a reversible gel at 4°C, enabling the 3D printing of temporary structures that can later be removed using a cold buffer, thus allowing for the creation of hollow channels inside the construct.
Pluronic 127 is an optimal choice for practising bioprinting as it is cheap and easy to use. It is recommended to use this hydrogel as a testing material to optimize your printing parameters, geometry and the final construct.
However, Pluronic 127 is unsuitable for long-term structural support within a tissue scaffold due to its poor mechanical strength and tendency to dissolve faster in aqueous environments.
2. GelMA: Nature’s Power in Bioprinting
Meet the most versatile biomaterial of the lot – GelMA!!
Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMA) has gained significant popularity in various applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and bioprinting due to its unique properties. Derived from naturally sourced materials, this engineered gelatin-based biomaterial exhibits features such as biocompatibility, cell adhesion, biodegradability, and tailored mechanical properties.
Researchers synthesize GelMA, an inexpensive protein-based polymer, through a simple process of modifying gelatin with methacrylic anhydride (MAA) and adjusting the degree of substitution (DS). The DS is a crucial factor that determines the biophysiochemical properties of GelMA. The next time you want to tailor this biomaterial for a specific application, you now know that tuning the DS will sort out your problem!
With the presence of a water-soluble photoinitiator and the appropriate exposure to light, GelMA can undergo photo crosslinking effortlessly. The intrinsic shear-thinning and self-healing properties of some hybrid GelMA biomaterial-based constructs have gained popularity. GelMA is currently undergoing extensive use in printing tissues such as the heart, liver, bone, and blood vessels.
3. Sodium Alginate: Beyond Culinary Frontiers.
Beyond using Alginate as an ingredient for those ravishing deserts, it finds a prominent place in 3D Bioprinting applications as well. Alginate, a naturally derived biopolymer, is obtained from brown seaweed and certain bacteria. It is a linear copolymer consisting of α-1-guluronic acid (G) and (1-4 linked) β-D-mannuronic acid (M) monomers. By adjusting the G and M ratio and molecular weight of the polymer chain, researchers can easily manipulate the crosslinking density and mechanical properties. Factors such as the species, location, and age of the seaweed influence the distribution and amount of each monomer. Alginate gels form through the cooperative interaction of divalent cations such as Ba2+, Ca2+, or Sr2+ with G monomer blocks, generating ionic bridges between polymer chains.
Although alginate does not provide specific cell-binding sites, it can create a soft and favorable 3D environment for cell embedding. To enhance the required biological stimulation, researchers can chemically modify alginate with RGD motifs or mix it with functional additives. Alginate’s low cost and low toxicity make it an attractive biomaterial for various applications. These include bioprinting when used alone or in combination with other polymers to achieve unique properties suitable for specific projects.
4. Collagen– Perfect base for your Bioink
Due to its cell-friendly, biocompatible, and convenient properties, researchers widely use collagen, a naturally occurring protein, in bioprinting applications. Collagen type 1 is the most commonly used form. It consists of three polypeptide chains. These chains wrap around each other to form a three-stranded rope structure. This structure is held together by covalent bonds and hydrogen.
The printability of collagen-based bioinks depends on the fibrillation process’s kinetics and concentration. Collagen forms fibrils at physiological conditions at 37°C and a neutral pH. However, researchers associated poor resolution and low mechanical properties with the use of pure collagen at concentrations of 10 mg/ml or higher. They can enhance the mechanical properties of collagen fibers by introducing chemical cross-linkers such as carbodiimide and glutaraldehyde. They can also adjust pH or temperature to achieve the desired improvements. Additionally, enzymes like tyrosinase or microbial transglutaminase (mTG) also offer avenues for improvement. Complete gelation can take up to 30 minutes at 37°C.
In response to low mechanical properties and poor resolution, researchers utilized supportive/sacrificial hydrogels alongside collagen in the FRESH method. Alternatively, they simply blended collagen with other polymers to enhance its mechanical strength. Metalloproteases naturally degrade collagen, enabling locally controlled degradation in engineered tissues.
5. Methacrylated hyaluronic acid (HaMA): Embracing Hyaluronic Acid’s Influence
If you’re seeking a rigid and biologically relevant biomaterial with the right mechanical strength and cell-friendliness, methacrylated hyaluronic acid (HaMA) fits the bill perfectly. Hyaluronic Acid, a naturally occurring high molecular weight hydrophilic glycosaminoglycan, provides mechanical support to the extracellular matrix. It also contributes to tissue hydrodynamics, cell movement, and proliferation.
Its chemical structure, [α-1,4-D-glucuronic acid-β-1,3-N-acetyl-D glucosamine]n, facilitates easy esterification, enabling the ready replacement of primary hydroxyl groups.
Functionalizing methacrylate groups using a photoinitiator forms HAMA hydrogels, which polymerize upon UV exposure, resulting in strong network formation.
Methacrylation increases the final mechanical strength of hyaluronic acid, making it more resistant to degradation and more rigid than non-derived HA hydrogels while retaining its biocompatibility. HaMA-based hydrogels with intrinsic osteogenicity are promising scaffold materials for use in 3D printed, tissue engineered bone replacements. These hydrogels are translucent, which minimizes light penetration problems when checking constructs under a microscope.
Sign up for our newsletter
Stay up-to-date with the current developments in bioprinting by subscribing to our email newsletter.
CONTACT US
Address: Next Big Innovation Labs®,
Jyothy Institute of Technology
Kanakapura Main Road Thataguni,
Bengaluru, Karnataka 560082, India
GET STARTED
RESOURCES
JOIN
NEXT BIG INNOVATION LABS®
Next Big Innovation Labs® is a Deep Tech Lifesciences platform, focused on developing Bioprinting Technology and Products for R&D, Industrial and Clinical Applications.
COPYRIGHT © 2024 NEXT BIG INNOVATION LABS® - All rights reserved