Development of bioactive short fiber-reinforced printable hydrogels with tunable mechanical and osteogenic properties for bone repair

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. B, Materials for biology and medicine Materials for biology and medicine, 2024-03, Vol.12 (11), p.2818-283
• Main Authors: Moghimi, Nafiseh, Kamaraj, Meenakshi, Zehtabi, Fatemeh, Amin Yavari, Saber, Kohandel, Mohammad, Khademhosseini, Ali, John, Johnson V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3-D printers; Alginates; Alginates - chemistry; Alginic acid; Antibodies; Biocompatibility; Biomarkers; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Bone grafts; Bone healing; Cell differentiation; Coatings; Cytokines; Durapatite; Fibrin; Gelatin; Gelatin - chemistry; Grafting; Grafts; Growth factors; Humans; Hybrid composites; Hydrogels; Hydrogels - chemistry; Hydroxyapatite; Long bone; Microfibers; Osteogenesis; Polyesters; Polylactic acid; Regeneration; Regeneration (physiology); Short fibers; Skin & tissue grafts; Substitute bone; Surgical implants; Three dimensional printing; Tissue engineering
• ISSN: 2050-750X; 2050-7518
• DOI: 10.1039/d3tb02924g

Personalized bone-regenerative materials have attracted substantial interest in recent years. Modern clinical settings demand the use of engineered materials incorporating patient-derived cells, cytokines, antibodies, and biomarkers to enhance the process of regeneration. In this work, we formulated short microfiber-reinforced hydrogels with platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) to engineer implantable multi-material core-shell bone grafts. By employing 3D bioprinting technology, we fabricated a core-shell bone graft from a hybrid composite hydroxyapatite-coated poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fiber-reinforced methacryolyl gelatin (GelMA)/alginate hydrogel. The overall concept involves 3D bioprinting of long bone mimic microstructures that resemble a core-shell cancellous-cortical structure, with a stiffer shell and a softer core with our engineered biomaterial. We observed a significantly enhanced stiffness in the hydrogel scaffold incorporated with hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated PLA microfibers compared to the pristine hydrogel construct. Furthermore, HA non-coated PLA microfibers were mixed with PRF and GelMA/alginate hydrogel to introduce a slow release of growth factors which can further enhance cell maturation and differentiation. These patient-specific bone grafts deliver cytokines and growth factors with distinct spatiotemporal release profiles to enhance tissue regeneration. The biocompatible and bio-responsive bone mimetic core-shell multi-material structures enhance osteogenesis and can be customized to have materials at a specific location, geometry, and material combination. Personalized bone-regenerative materials with enhanced mechanical and osteogenic properties.