Three-dimensional printing of chitosan cryogel as injectable and shape recoverable scaffolds. (1st June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Ting-Chieh; Wong, Chui-Wei; Hsu, Shan-hui
• Is Part Of: Carbohydrate polymers. Volume 285(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-06-01
• Subjects: Chitosan -- 3D printing -- Cryogel -- Polyurethane -- Injectable; Polysaccharides -- Periodicals; Polysaccharides -- Periodicals; Polysaccharides -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 547.78
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119228
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0144-8617

Abstract

Abstract: Cryogel has macroporous structure and advantages of mechanical stability and injectability for biomedical applications. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a customized manufacturing technology. However, there is little research on 3D printing of cryogel. In this work, we developed a 3D-printable chitosan cryogel using difunctional polyurethane nanoparticles as the crosslinker that reacted with chitosan at 4 °C for 4 h to form a stable feeding hydrogel (pre-cryogel) for 3D printing. The printed pre-cryogel was frozen at −20 °C to form 3D-printed chitosan cryogel. The 3D-printed cryogel had properties similar to those of bulk cryogel such as high compressibility, elastic recovery, and water absorption (≈3200%). Results from cell experiments indicated that the 3D-printed chitosan cryogel scaffolds provided good mechanical integrity for proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived adult stem cells. The 3D-printed chitosan cryogel scaffolds with injectability and shape recovery property are potential biomaterials for customized tissue engineering and minimally invasive surgery. Graphical abstract: A 3D-printable chitosan cryogel was developed using difunctional polyurethane nanoparticles as the crosslinker. Chitosan was mixed with the crosslinker at 4 °C for 4 h to form pre-cryogel before extrusion and deposition onto the printing platform at freezing temperature (−20 °C). The 3D-printed cryogel scaffold demonstrated macroporous structure for the stacking fibers and 67% void volume among stacking fibers. The stacked cryogel fibers generally kept the properties of the conventionally cast cryogel. The 3D-printed chitosan cryogel scaffold was injectable through a 16-gauge needle syringe with good shape recovery, and enhanced the chondrogenic differentiation of adipose-derived adult stem cells. Unlabelled Image