A thermo responsive and photo polymerizable chondroitin sulfate based hydrogel for 3D printing applications.
The aim of this study was to design a hydrogel system based on methacrylated chondroitin sulfate (CSMA) and a thermo sensitive poly(N (2 hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide mono/dilactate) polyethylene glycol triblock copolymer (M15P10) as a suitable material for additive manufacturing of scaffolds. CSMA was synthesized by reaction of chondroitin sulfate with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) in dimethylsulfoxide at 50degC and its degree of methacrylation was tunable up to 48.5% by changing reaction time and GMA feed. Unlike polymer solutions composed of CSMA alone (20% w/w) mixtures based on 2% w/w of CSMA and 18% of M15P10 showed strain softening, thermo sensitive and shear thinning properties more pronounced than those found for polymer solutions based on M15P10 alone. Additionally, they displayed a yield stress of 19.2+ 7.0Pa. The 3D printing of this hydrogel resulted in the generation of constructs with tailorable porosity and good handling properties. Finally, embedded chondrogenic cells remained viable and proliferating over a culture period of 6days. The hydrogel described herein represents a promising biomaterial for cartilage 3D printing applications.
Carbohydrate polymers