A strategy for strong interface bonding by 3D bioprinting of oppositely charged κ-carrageenan and gelatin hydrogels

• Main Authors: Li, Huijun, Tan, Yu Jun, Li, Lin
• Other Authors: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Mechanical engineering; Bioprinting; Hydrogel
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/141763
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

A promising approach for improving the interfacial bonding of a three-dimensionally (3D) printed multilayered structure has been investigated by taking advantage of the electrostatic interactions between two hydrogels with oppositely charges. Here, two hydrogels namely gelatin and κ-carrageenan, which are the cationic and anionic hydrogels respectively, are used. It is found that the interfacial bonding strength between these two oppositely charged hydrogels is significantly higher than that of a bilayered gelatin or a bilayered κ-carrageenan. The bioprinted multilayered κ-carrageenan-gelatin hydrogel construct demonstrates a very good biocompatibility and a good structure integrity at 37 °C. Our strategy also overcomes the limitation of using gelatin for bio-fabrication at 37 °C, without further post crosslinking.