3D Bioprinting Using Poly(ethylene-glycol)-dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) Composite

Recent progress in additive manufacturing has enabled rapid printing of bioinspired structures such as vasculature and alveoli using stereolithography (SLA) bioprinting. Bioinks for SLA often require synthetic polymers as additives to ensure the structural integrity of the printed cell-laden constructs. To this end, high molecular weight (MW) poly(ethylene-glycol)- diacrylate (PEGDA) (MW = 3400) is commonly used to enhance the mechanical property of crosslinked hydrogels, which requires in-house polymer synthesis or the acquisition of costly reagents. This research investigated the use of poly(ethylene-glycol)-dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) (MW = 1000) as a component of a composite bioink to enhance the mechanical properties of the SLA-printed constructs. We successfully demonstrated the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) constructs with overhang and complex architecture, while human colorectal cancer cells (Caco-2) embedded in the crosslinked bioink exhibited the capability to proliferate on Day 6 of in vitro cell culture. Our study suggested PEGDMA as a viable alternative to high MW PEGDA used in SLA bioprinting. The accessibility to PEGDMA will facilitate the advance in 3D bioprinting to fabricate complex bioinspired structures and tissue surrogates for biomedical applications. Article HighlightsO_LIPoly(ethylene-glycol)-dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) can be used in cell-laden bioprinting to enhance the mechanical property of bioinks. C_LIO_LIPEGDMA-based bioink was non-cytotoxic and conducive to cell proliferation. C_LIO_LIThe facile preparation of PEGDMA composite ink will help to accelerate the research in tissue engineering via bioprinting. C_LI