While alginate hydrogel is a desirable material platform for Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) of
cell-seeded tissue engineering scaffolds, achieving consistently high-quality results can be
challenging. Local variations in the material properties cause inconsistent material deposition
behavior and consequently decrease the resultant geometric fidelity of the construct. The effects
of gel mixing on material property consistency, geometric fidelity, and cell viability were
characterized in an attempt to improve the formulation’s compatibility with SFF processing.
Material homogeneity was quantified through a novel experimental setup composed of an
EnduraTEC mechanical test-frame and custom syringe-extrusion jig. Cell viability and
geometric fidelity were assessed using standard protocol. The baseline mechanical stiffness of
the printed samples was 16±3 kPa (n=6). We found that increasing mixing reduced material
inconsistency and improved geometric fidelity, without adversely affecting cell viability: the
printed construct quality was drastically improved by increasing mixing well beyond previously
established limits.Mechanical Engineerin
