Printing Structurally Anisotropic Biocompatible Fibrillar Hydrogel for Guided Cell Alignment
Many fibrous biological tissues exhibit structural anisotropy due to the alignment of fibers in the extracellular matrix. To study the impact of such anisotropy on cell proliferation, orientation, and mobility, it is important to recapitulate and achieve control over the structure of man-made hydrog...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Gels |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/11/685 |
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| author | Zhengkun Chen Nancy Khuu Fei Xu Sina Kheiri Ilya Yakavets Faeze Rakhshani Sofia Morozova Eugenia Kumacheva |
| author_facet | Zhengkun Chen Nancy Khuu Fei Xu Sina Kheiri Ilya Yakavets Faeze Rakhshani Sofia Morozova Eugenia Kumacheva |
| author_sort | Zhengkun Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many fibrous biological tissues exhibit structural anisotropy due to the alignment of fibers in the extracellular matrix. To study the impact of such anisotropy on cell proliferation, orientation, and mobility, it is important to recapitulate and achieve control over the structure of man-made hydrogel scaffolds for cell culture. Here, we report a chemically crosslinked fibrous hydrogel due to the reaction between aldehyde-modified cellulose nanofibers and gelatin. We explored two ways to induce structural anisotropy in this gel by extruding the hydrogel precursor through two different printheads. The cellulose nanofibers in the hydrogel ink underwent shear-induced alignment during extrusion and retained it in the chemically crosslinked hydrogel. The degree of anisotropy was controlled by the ink composition and extrusion flow rate. The structural anisotropy of the hydrogel extruded through a nozzle affected the orientation of human dermal fibroblasts that were either seeded on the hydrogel surface or encapsulated in the extruded hydrogel. The reported straightforward approach to constructing fibrillar hydrogel scaffolds with structural anisotropy can be used in studies of the biological impact of tissue anisotropy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:03:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59299dd5b5054d6ab1fbcb18c12b1108 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2310-2861 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:03:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gels |
| spelling | doaj.art-59299dd5b5054d6ab1fbcb18c12b11082023-11-24T04:46:04ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612022-10-0181168510.3390/gels8110685Printing Structurally Anisotropic Biocompatible Fibrillar Hydrogel for Guided Cell AlignmentZhengkun Chen0Nancy Khuu1Fei Xu2Sina Kheiri3Ilya Yakavets4Faeze Rakhshani5Sofia Morozova6Eugenia Kumacheva7Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, CanadaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, CanadaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, CanadaDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, CanadaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, CanadaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, CanadaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, CanadaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, CanadaMany fibrous biological tissues exhibit structural anisotropy due to the alignment of fibers in the extracellular matrix. To study the impact of such anisotropy on cell proliferation, orientation, and mobility, it is important to recapitulate and achieve control over the structure of man-made hydrogel scaffolds for cell culture. Here, we report a chemically crosslinked fibrous hydrogel due to the reaction between aldehyde-modified cellulose nanofibers and gelatin. We explored two ways to induce structural anisotropy in this gel by extruding the hydrogel precursor through two different printheads. The cellulose nanofibers in the hydrogel ink underwent shear-induced alignment during extrusion and retained it in the chemically crosslinked hydrogel. The degree of anisotropy was controlled by the ink composition and extrusion flow rate. The structural anisotropy of the hydrogel extruded through a nozzle affected the orientation of human dermal fibroblasts that were either seeded on the hydrogel surface or encapsulated in the extruded hydrogel. The reported straightforward approach to constructing fibrillar hydrogel scaffolds with structural anisotropy can be used in studies of the biological impact of tissue anisotropy.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/11/685anisotropycellulose nanofiber3D printinghydrogelsalignment |
| spellingShingle | Zhengkun Chen Nancy Khuu Fei Xu Sina Kheiri Ilya Yakavets Faeze Rakhshani Sofia Morozova Eugenia Kumacheva Printing Structurally Anisotropic Biocompatible Fibrillar Hydrogel for Guided Cell Alignment Gels anisotropy cellulose nanofiber 3D printing hydrogels alignment |
| title | Printing Structurally Anisotropic Biocompatible Fibrillar Hydrogel for Guided Cell Alignment |
| title_full | Printing Structurally Anisotropic Biocompatible Fibrillar Hydrogel for Guided Cell Alignment |
| title_fullStr | Printing Structurally Anisotropic Biocompatible Fibrillar Hydrogel for Guided Cell Alignment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Printing Structurally Anisotropic Biocompatible Fibrillar Hydrogel for Guided Cell Alignment |
| title_short | Printing Structurally Anisotropic Biocompatible Fibrillar Hydrogel for Guided Cell Alignment |
| title_sort | printing structurally anisotropic biocompatible fibrillar hydrogel for guided cell alignment |
| topic | anisotropy cellulose nanofiber 3D printing hydrogels alignment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/8/11/685 |
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