Laura Schmidt

Master student

Oxidized hyaluronic acid based hydrogels as novel bioink for neural tissue engineering

 

Supervisors: Sonja Kuth, Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

3D printing is a common method of relevance for developing tissue engineering scaffolds that allows cells embedded in a bioink to build new tissue in complex structures [1]. There is currently great interest in hyaluronic acid based bioinks, as it is an endogenous material that is expected to be biocompatible. Hyaluronic acid is also contained in the extracellular matrix, which plays an important role in the adhesion of cells [2]. In this project, a hydrogel based of oxidized hyaluronic acid (OHA) as novel bioink will be investigated. This hydrogel will be tested in terms of mechanical behavior, degradation properties and printability. In addition, the cell viability of the hydrogel will be investigated using different cell types.

[1] Bedir T, Ulag S, Ustundag CB, Gunduz O. 3D bioprinting applications in neural tissue engineering for spinal cord injury repair. Mater Sci Eng C 2020;110:110741.

[2] Chircov C, Grumezescu AM, Bejenaru LE. Hyaluronic acid-based scaffolds for tissue engineering. Rom J Morphol Embryol. 2018;59(1):71-6.