Wiebke Buhrow

Master student

Calcium-Silicate based Bioactive Glasses as Inorganic fillers in ADA-GEL Bioink for Muscle Cell Bioprinting

Supervisors: Hsuan-Heng Lu and Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Hydrogels like those based on alginate dialdehyde-gelatin (ADA-GEL) mimic the mechanical and chemical properties of the extracellular matrix, with the potential to be tailored as biomaterial for muscle cell bioprinting [1,2]. By adding bioactive glass particles into the ADA-GEL, the properties of the hydrogel can be changed. Ions as release products can introduce effects like an increase in bioactivity and improved cell viability [3]. In this study, calcium-silicate based bioactive glasses will be incorporated into the ADA-GEL as a means to create an enhanced bioink for the bioprinting of myoblasts. The effect of doped and undoped bioactive glass on the properties of hydrogel such as printability and degradation as well as the resulting cell behaviour will be investigated.

[1] Distler, et al. (2020), Ionically and Enzymatically Dual Cross-Linked Oxidized Alginate Gelatin Hydrogels with Tunable Stiffness and Degradation Behavior for Tissue Engineering, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 6, 3899–3914.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c00677

[2] L. Sprenger, et al. (2024), Composite Alginate Dialdehyde-Gelatin (ADA-GEL) Hydrogel Containing Short Ribbon-Shaped Fillers for Skeletal Muscle Tissue Biofabrication, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 16, 44605–44622.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c10751

[3] Winston, et al. (2023), Bioactive nanoglass regulating the myogenic differentiation and skeletal muscle regeneration, Regenerative Biomaterials, Volume 10, rbad059.  https://doi.org/10.1093/rb/rbad059