Three-dimensional printing of chitosan cryogel as injectable and shape recoverable scaffolds
Journal
Carbohydrate Polymers
Journal Volume
285
Date Issued
2022
Author(s)
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. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd
Subjects
3D printing; Chitosan; Cryogel; Injectable; Polyurethane
SDGs
Other Subjects
3D printers; Chitosan; Mechanical stability; Medical applications; Molecular biology; Scaffolds (biology); Shape optimization; Stem cells; Water absorption; 3-D printing; 3D-printing; Biomedical applications; Cryogels; Injectability; Injectables; Macroporous structures; Manufacturing technologies; Three-dimensional (3D) printing; Three-dimensional-printing; Polyurethanes
Type
journal article