Now, researchers are furthering the study of hydrogels in 3D printing as well as expanding their uses. ‘Development of a clay based bioink for 3D cell printing for skeletal application,’ was authored by researchers hailing from Technische Universität Dresden and the University of Southampton. Published recently in BioFabrication, the paper goes into detail about the potential for using the versatile material in tissue engineering—one of the hottest areas of science today as researchers hope one day to create entire organs for transplant.
Because of such challenges in printing, the team has begun using LAPONITE®, an artificial nanosilicate clay, trademarked by BYK Additives Ltd. With this material they are able to 3D print new scaffolds. The bioink is created through a combination of both alginate and methylcellulose which facilitate easier 3D printing.“Three-dimensional printing of cell-laden hydrogels has evolved as a promising approach on the route to patient-specific or complex tissue-engineered constructs,” state the researchers. “However, it is still challenging to print structures with both, high shape fidelity and cell vitality.”
“Following extrusion, approximately 70%–75% of printed immortalised human mesenchymal stem cells survived and cell viability was maintained over 21 days within the plotted constructs,” state the researchers in their paper. “Mechanical properties of scaffolds comprised of the composite bioink decreased over time when stored under cell culture conditions.”
The team goes on to point out that LAPONITE offers numerous benefits, including that of ‘favorable drug delivery properties.’ They used both bovine serum albumin and vascular endothelial growth factor in the bioink.
Overall, they found that using LAPONITE allowed for better fabrication technique, improved ‘shape fidelity,’ and the release of active agents.“We demonstrate that the release of both growth factors significantly changed to a more sustained profile by inclusion of Laponite in comparison to an alginate-methylcellulose blend in the absence of Laponite,” stated the researchers.
The paper’s authors include T Ahlfeld, G Cidonio, D Kilian, S Duin, A R Akkineni, J I Dawson, S Yang, A Lode, R O C Oreffo and M Gelinsky.
Discuss in the LAPONITE 3D Printing Hydrogels forum thread at 3DPB.com.