Optimization of 3D printing and in vitro characterization of alginate/gelatin lattice and angular scaffolds for potential cardiac tissue engineering

作者：Farinaz Ketabat, Titouan Maris, Xiaoman Duan, Zahra Yazdanpanah, Michael Kelly, Ildikó Badea, Daniel Chen · 发表于：Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.3389/fbioe.2023.1161804 · 被引用次数：43 · 研究领域：3D Printing in Biomedical Research、Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine、Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications

Background: Engineering cardiac tissue that mimics the hierarchical structure of cardiac tissue remains challenging, raising the need for developing novel methods capable of creating structures with high complexity. Three-dimensional (3D)-printing techniques are among promising methods for engineering complex tissue constructs with high precision. By means of 3D printing, this study aims to develop cardiac constructs with a novel angular structure mimicking cardiac architecture from alginate (Alg) and gelatin (Gel) composite. The 3D-printing conditions were optimized and the structures were characterized in vitro , with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and cardiomyocytes (H9c2 cells), for potential cardiac tissue engineering. Methods: We synthesized the composites of Alg and Gel with varying concentrations and examined their cytotoxicity with both H9c2 cells and HUVECs, as well as their printability for creating 3D structures of varying fibre orientations (angular design). The 3D-printed structures were characterized in terms of morphology by both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and synchrotron radiation propagation-based imaging computed tomography (SR-PBI-CT), and elastic modulus, swelling percentage, and mass loss percentage as well. The cell viability studies were conducted via measuring the metabolic activity of the live cells with MTT assay and visualizing the cells with live/dead assay kit. Results: Among the examined composite groups of Alg and Gel, ...