TY - JOUR
T1 - Development and characterization of 3D-printed electroconductive pHEMA-co-MAA NP-laden hydrogels for tissue engineering
AU - De Nitto, Sara
AU - Serafin, Aleksandra
AU - Karadimou, Alexandra
AU - Schmalenberger, Achim
AU - Mulvihill, John J.E.
AU - Collins, Maurice N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/5
Y1 - 2024/5
N2 - Tissue engineering (TE) continues to be widely explored as a potential solution to meet critical clinical needs for diseased tissue replacement and tissue regeneration. In this study, we developed a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (pHEMA-co-MAA) based hydrogel loaded with newly synthesized conductive poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles (NPs), and subsequently processed these hydrogels into tissue engineered constructs via three-dimensional (3D) printing. The presence of the NPs was critical as they altered the rheological properties during printing. However, all samples exhibited suitable shear thinning properties, allowing for the development of an optimized processing window for 3D printing. Samples were 3D printed into pre-determined disk-shaped configurations of 2 and 10 mm in height and diameter, respectively. We observed that the NPs disrupted the gel crosslinking efficiencies, leading to shorter degradation times and compressive mechanical properties ranging between 450 and 550 kPa. The conductivity of the printed hydrogels increased along with the NP concentration to (5.10±0.37)×10−7 S/cm. In vitro studies with cortical astrocyte cell cultures demonstrated that exposure to the pHEMA-co-MAA NP hydrogels yielded high cellular viability and proliferation rates. Finally, hydrogel antimicrobial studies with staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria revealed that the developed hydrogels affected bacterial growth. Taken together, these materials show promise for various TE strategies. Graphic abstract: (Figure presented.)
AB - Tissue engineering (TE) continues to be widely explored as a potential solution to meet critical clinical needs for diseased tissue replacement and tissue regeneration. In this study, we developed a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (pHEMA-co-MAA) based hydrogel loaded with newly synthesized conductive poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles (NPs), and subsequently processed these hydrogels into tissue engineered constructs via three-dimensional (3D) printing. The presence of the NPs was critical as they altered the rheological properties during printing. However, all samples exhibited suitable shear thinning properties, allowing for the development of an optimized processing window for 3D printing. Samples were 3D printed into pre-determined disk-shaped configurations of 2 and 10 mm in height and diameter, respectively. We observed that the NPs disrupted the gel crosslinking efficiencies, leading to shorter degradation times and compressive mechanical properties ranging between 450 and 550 kPa. The conductivity of the printed hydrogels increased along with the NP concentration to (5.10±0.37)×10−7 S/cm. In vitro studies with cortical astrocyte cell cultures demonstrated that exposure to the pHEMA-co-MAA NP hydrogels yielded high cellular viability and proliferation rates. Finally, hydrogel antimicrobial studies with staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria revealed that the developed hydrogels affected bacterial growth. Taken together, these materials show promise for various TE strategies. Graphic abstract: (Figure presented.)
KW - 3D printing
KW - Conductive nanoparticles
KW - Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)
KW - Ultraviolet (UV) polymerization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85191535397&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s42242-024-00272-8
DO - 10.1007/s42242-024-00272-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85191535397
SN - 2096-5524
VL - 7
SP - 262
EP - 276
JO - Bio-Design and Manufacturing
JF - Bio-Design and Manufacturing
IS - 3
ER -