Development of Hydrogel-based Bioinks Consisting of K-carrageenan/Methylcellulose and Pluronic F127/Methylcellulose

Abstract

K-carrageenan (KC)/methylcellulose (MC) (KC/MC) based hydrogels and Pluronic F127 (PF)/ MC (PF/MC) based hydrogels have shown promising results for three dimensional (3D) bioprinting applications. The blend of various KC and MC were investigated for extrusion-based bioprinting. Physical property of the 0.3%w/w KC/7 %w/w MC (0.3KC/7MC) hydrogels was successfully enhanced using ionic crosslinking with 0.1% w/w KCl (0.1KCl). Furthermore, various concentrations of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) were incorporated into the 0.3KC/0.1KCl/7MC hydrogel to increase its mechanical performance. Shear thinning and thixotropic properties are important for extrusion-based bioprinting. The presence of 2 %w/w CNC (2CNC) and 4% w/w CNC (4CNC) in the hydrogels (0.3KC/0.1KCl/7MC/2CNC and 0.3KC/0.1KCl/7MC/4CNC) exhibited good thixotropic behavior. In addition, increasing CNC concentration showed greater shear thinning behavior. A good cell viability (> 90%) was obtained for the 3D bioprinted 0.3KC/0.1KCl/7MC/2CNC and 0.3KC/0.1KCl/7MC/4CNC constructs. Furthermore PF/MC system, the blends of 18% (w/w) PF/ 4% (w/w) MC (18PF/4MC) and 20% (w/w) PF/4% (w/w) MC (20PF/4MC) exhibited good thixotropic behavior. At high PF concentration of 20PF/MC showed better shear thinning behavior than 18PF/MC. The 20PF/4MC hydrogel exhibited better printability than 18PF/4MC. The compressive mechanical property was significantly higher in the presence of PF. In addition, the blend of 20PF/4MC and 18PF/4MC showed good cell viability (>90%). The novel 0.3KC/0.1KCl/7MC/4CNC and 20PF/4MC hydrogel showed good attributes for a promising 3D bioprinting material.