Vernetzen von Schmelz-Elektrogesponnenen Gerüststrukturen
Biomaterialien
Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse
Motivated by the chemical versatility as well as the excellent biological properties of POx and POzi, a new biomaterial ink was developed within this project. The properties of this biomaterial ink were tailored to the processing for MEW. This new platform significantly expands its application range, especially the ability to fabricate hydrogel structures. This is of importance, as it is generally well established that cells respond strongly to mechanical cues of their microenvironment. With the biomaterial ink, MEW printed structures specifically designed for soft tissue applications, were achieved. This project led to several discoveries that have broader implications in polymer thermalprocessing research. This project was able to use a spectrum of polymer chemistries to narrow in on formulation candidates that resulted in hydrogel scaffolds. It was shown that the established platform offers significant potential for straightforward modification with biological cues and fluorescent markers. These scaffolds could be hydrated in water that contained peptides or fluorophores to simultaneously impart surface functionalization. The thermoreversible and highly hydrated hydrogels are robust enough for repeated aspiration and ejection through a needle without structural damage, despite their high water content of 84 %. Moreover, the scaffolds retain functional groups for modification using click chemistry and therefore can readily be covalently functionalized as demonstrated using fluorophores and peptides to facilitate visualization and cell attachment. The PEtOzi hydrogel developed here is compatible with confocal imaging and staining protocols for cells. Several characterization methodologies were additionally established to measure changes in polymer properties and composition with heating time. This includes methods such as measuring the speed of the printing jet, FTIR, differential scanning calorimetry and rheology. After synthesis we identify the manufacturing procedure and characterize the new scaffolds in the context for use in biofabrication. The benefits include a tough, robust scaffold that is also a highwater content hydrogel that can be manipulated in new ways. Flat and tubular scaffolds were fabricated and the physical properties of the material can be tailored with ease and potential for 4D-printing was highlighted as well. Therefore, this work lays the foundation for a plethora of different applications in biomedicine and other fields.
Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)
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(2020) A versatile biomaterial ink platform for the melt electrowriting of chemically-crosslinked hydrogels. Mater Horiz, 7, 928-933
Nahm D, Weigl F, Schaefer N, Sancho A, Frank A, Groll J, Villmann C, Schmidt H-W, Dalton PD, Luxenhofer R
