† These authors contributed equally to this work.
AbstractIt has long been proposed that recapitulating the extracellular matrix (ECM) of native human tissues in the laboratory may enhance the regenerative capacity of engineered scaffolds in-vivo.Organ-and tissue-derived decellularized ECM biomaterials have been widely used for tissue repair, especially due to their intrinsic biochemical cues that can facilitate repair and regeneration. The main purpose of this study was to synthesize a new photocrosslinkable human bone-derived ECM hydrogel for bioprinting of vascularized scaffolds. To that end, we demineralized and decellularized human bone fragments to obtain a bone matrix, which was further processed and functionalized with methacrylate groups to form a photocrosslinkable methacrylate bone ECM hydrogel -BoneMA. The mechanical properties of BoneMA were tunable, with the elastic modulus increasing as a function of photocrosslinking time, while still retaining the nanoscale features of the polymer networks. The intrinsic cell-compatibility of the bone matrix ensured the synthesis of a highly cytocompatible hydrogel. The bioprinted BoneMA scaffolds supported vascularization of endothelial cells and within a day led to the formation of interconnected vascular networks. We propose that such a quick vascular network formation was due to the host of pro-angiogenic biomolecules present in the bone ECM matrix.Further, we also demonstrate the bioprintability of BoneMA in microdimensions as injectable ECM-based building blocks for microscale tissue engineering in a minimally invasive manner.We conclude that BoneMA may be a useful hydrogel system for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. hDPSCs encapsulated in GelMA hydrogels crosslinked for 15, 30, and 45 secs and stained for live (blue) and dead (green) cells at 1, 3 and 7 day time points showed a high degree of viability across all conditions and time points. Scale bar -400 μm. Figure S4. Both positive and negative features ranging from 500 -1000 μm in width were printed using BoneMA after a crosslinking time of 45 seconds. The resolution for the negative was better than positive for the 500 μm square print. Supplementary Figure S5. Shear storage modulus of BoneMA and GelMA. A) The shear storage modulus of BoneMA increased during the first 100 seconds of crosslinking. During this period, the shear storage modulus reached approximately 500 Pa, and beyond 100 seconds, the value reached approximately 750 Pa, where the curve remained a constant after 150 seconds. B) GelMA had a sharp increase in storage modulus during the first 50 seconds, and the value reached approximately 2 kPa. The curve hit a constant at 125 seconds when the shear storage modulus reached a value of approximately 2.5 kPa.
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