Mimicking Mechanical Behavior of Human Tissue with 3D Printable Elastomeric Hydrogel

Abstract

  Injectable biomaterials are useful for numerous biomedical applications, such as introducing therapeutics into tissues or for 3D printing. Numerous polymeric biomaterials have been developed to mimic the tissue's mechanical properties. however, designing an ideal biomaterial with tunable properties that can mimic different tissue niches remains an unfulfilled promise. Here, an injectable resilin-like elastomeric hydrogel is designed with highly tunable properties, with methacrylate polyurethane as the elastomeric part and hydroxyethyl methacrylate as the hydrogelic part (PUHEMA). Elongation at break (λmax) and Young's module (E) can be controlled by tuning the composition of the elastomeric part. We illustrate how this prototypical polyurethane elastomer enables the replication of the mechanical properties of various tissues.  </p