Toward In Vitro Vascular Wall Models: Digital Light Processing of Acrylate‐Endcapped Urethane‐Based Polymers into Tubular Constructs

• Published in: Macromolecular chemistry and physics 2024-12, Vol.225 (24), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Pien, Nele, Pokholenko, Ianina, Deroose, Nicolas, Perneel, Charlotte, Vinturelle, Rafaelle, Meeremans, Marguerite, Mantovani, Diego, Van Vlierberghe, Sandra, De Schauwer, Catharina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acrylate‐endcapped urethane‐based polymer; Biocompatibility; Biological activity; Biological properties; Biomedical materials; Blood vessels; CAD/CAM; digital light processing; Elastic properties; Feasibility studies; Gelatin; in vitro vascular wall models; Mechanical properties; Mimicry; Modulus of elasticity; Polyethylene glycol; Polymers; Polypropylene glycol; Scaffolds; Tissue engineering; tubular constructs; vascular tissue engineering
• ISSN: 1022-1352; 1521-3935
• DOI: 10.1002/macp.202400277

Digital light processing (DLP) is emerging as a powerful tool for fabricating tissue engineering (TE) scaffolds, particularly for vascular TE and the development of representative in vitro vascular wall models. For the latter, biomaterials should mimick the biological and mechanical properties of native blood vessels. To fabricate tubular constructs, the DLP‐printing process is optimized by exploiting acrylate‐endcapped urethane‐based (AUP) polymers as the presence of the acrylate end groups render them suitable for DLP printing and desirable mechanical properties arise from the urethane segments. Four AUP variants are synthesized, exploring polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polypropylene glycol (PPG) backbones with varying acrylate functionalities (di‐acrylate versus hexa‐acrylate), namely UPEG2, UPEG6, UPPG2, and UPPG6. Tubular constructs with precise dimensions and morphology are fabricated. PPG‐based AUP polymers exhibit superior computer‐aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) mimicry compared to PEG‐based derivatives. Construct characterization reveals tunable mechanical properties, with elastic moduli ranging from 45 to 259 kPa, reaching values of the human blood vessels. In particular, UPPG6 shows a two‐fold higher elastic modulus compared to UPPG2. All materials show excellent biocompatibility. Additionally, surface modification with gelatin‐methacryloyl (GELMA) significantly enhances the cytocompatibility of UPPG2 scaffolds. This study demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating tubular constructs with tunable properties using DLP and AUP polymers. Acrylate‐endcapped urethane‐based (AUP) polymers are fabricated into tubular constructs via digital light processing (DLP) for in vitro vascular wall modeling. The tailorable AUP architecture enables these constructs to exhibit tunable mechanical properties, closely mimicking native blood vessels. The study demonstrates enhanced cytocompatibility with surface modifications, underscoring the suitability of AUP polymers for vascular wall modeling.