3-D printable self-healing hydrogel for tissue engineering

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3-D) bioprinting has developed as an important method for tissue regeneration, with possibilities to construct functional and biological structures for various biomedical applications. Hydrogels were formed from oxidized hyaluronate (OHA) in the presence of glycol chitosan (GC) via Schiff base formation. Interestingly, autonomous healing of OHA/GC hydrogels after damage was achieved by incorporating adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) into the gels. Also, alginate (ALG) was added to OHA/GC/ADH hydrogels to exploit dual cross-linking system, which remarkably enhanced structural stability of the gels without the loss of self-healing capability. Various characteristics of OHA/GC/ADH/ALG hydrogels including physiochemical properties, biocompatibility, and 3-D printability were investigated in vitro. In this thesis, self-healing behavior of OHA/GC/ADH/ALG hydrogels as well as their potential applications to 3-D bioprinting for cartilage tissue regeneration was investigated.