1 research outputs found
3D Printed Alginate Hydrogels with Stiffness-Gradient Structure in a Carbomer Supporting Bath by Controlled Ca<sup>2+</sup> Diffusion
Manufacturing
biocompatible materials with higher-order structure
has great significance because they can mimic the extracellular medium
of the human organism and are a novel strategy for tissue regeneration.
In this study, a device with stiffness-gradient characteristics based
on two biocompatible materials, alginate with presolidification and
photocurable acrylamide-containing supporting bath, was designed and
constructed by the 3D printing technique. The presolidification can
avoid rapid diffusion of alginate in aqueous solutions, improve mechanical
properties without the introduction of heterogeneous gel precursor,
and endow gradient stiffness by the controlled diffusion of calcium
ions. Besides, a photocurable supporting bath was combined to manufacture
a device with a dual-gradient structure by a 4-step procedure, including
3D printing, removal of the inner hydrogel, solidification of alginate,
and curing of the supporting bath. A cylinder-like container was manufactured
as the template, and the wall of the resultant container with two
types of gradient structures showed parabola-like stiffness changes
(open upward), resulting from calcium ion diffusion-controlled gradient
solidification and alginate diffusion-controlled gradient photocuring.
Moreover, the resultant device exhibited lower cytotoxicity to both
adherent and suspension cells than containers manufactured with alginate.
Because of the high water uptake of the photocured supporting bath,
the removal of toxic metabolic products together with cell culture
medium from the container leads to better cell compatibility. This
diffusion-controlled device is also applicable to other additive manufacturers
with biomedical significance