PRINTCART · Bioprinting of novel hydrogel structures for cartilage tissue engineering

Bioprinting of novel hydrogel structures for cartilage tissue engineering

Bioprinting is a young, highly multi- and interdisciplinary area in medicine, which aims for the use of automated systems and living cells to fabricate living constructs that can repair human tissue after implantation. The particular advantages as compared to the manual cell seeding of prefabricated scaffolds are the abilities to mimic the cellular organisation of native tissues, and to upscale to (economically feasible) clinical application. The lack of suitable hydrogels is a major factor holding back the development of bioprinting. Our project aimed to solve this problem by translating principles from other application fields to bioprinting technology, in order to develop new printable hydrogel formulations to advance this new field in tissue engineering. Our research objectives are: 1. To advance bioprinting science and technology by applying, modifying and developing new hydrogel formulations to be used with a bioprinter. 2. To use bioprinting to prepare cell-laden hydrogel constructs for articular cartilage tissue engineering The project was executed at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia the first two years, then at the Department of Orthopaedics at University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands for the final year. At the end of the project, the objectives have been met and new hydrogel formulations and bioprinting techniques for cartilage tissue engineering research have been delivered. Hydrogels have been developed based on both naturally derived and synthetic components. Improved rheological behaviour has been realised, enabling the printing of well-defined structures with embedded living cells. Furthermore, the influence of gel composition on chondrocyte behaviour has been studied, resulting in gel formulations that enhance cartilage-like tissue formation. Moreover, novel printable hydrogels have been developed that form tough rubber-like materials after photo-initiated crosslinking. These gels have tailorable degradation kinetics and can be co-printed with cell-laden gels at low temperatures to give strength and stiffness to the overall construct. In addition, a fibre-reinforcement strategy to improve the mechanical properties of cell-laden hydrogels has been further developed, enabling early in vivo implantation in a load-bearing environment. The research has led to 5 published research papers, 2 review papers and 5 conference contributions. Three more research papers will be completed in the near future, based on results obtained within the project. Musculoskeletal damage and associated diseases are the most common cause of severe long-term pain and physical disability, as well as the main cause of sick leave in Europe. Tissue engineering aims at the regeneration of native tissue as a permanent solution for osteoarthritis patients. The development of novel hydrogels is a necessity to support transplanted cells to repair cartilage. Bioprinting can aid in making tissue engineering more viable for clinical application through improved logistics, economics and construct quality. PRINTCART has delivered new biomaterials that enable the preparation of cell-laden constructs which promise to become a new clinically viable route to repair cartilage defects.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз