Extrusion-Printing of Multi-Channeled Two-Component Hydrogel Constructs from Gelatinous Peptides and Anhydride-Containing Oligomers

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

The performance of artificial nerve guidance conduits (NGC) in peripheral nerve regeneration can be improved by providing structures with multiple small channels instead of a single wide lumen. 3D-printing is a strategy to access such multi-channeled structures in a defined and reproducible way. This study explores extrusion-based 3D-printing of two-component hydrogels from a single cartridge printhead into multi-channeled structures under aseptic conditions. The gels are based on a platform of synthetic, anhydride-containing oligomers for cross-linking of gelatinous peptides. Stable constructs with continuous small channels and a variety of footprints and sizes were successfully generated from formulations containing either an organic or inorganic gelation base. The adjustability of the system was investigated by varying the cross-linking oligomer and substituting the gelation bases controlling the cross-linking kinetics. Formulations with organic N ‑methyl-piperidin-3-ol and inorganic K 2 HPO 4 yielded hydrogels with comparable properties after manual processing and extrusion-based 3D-printing. The slower reaction kinetics of formulations with K 2 HPO 4 can be beneficial for extending the time frame for printing. The two-component hydrogels displayed both slow hydrolytic and activity-dependent enzymatic degradability. Together with satisfying in vitro cell proliferation data,

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.