3D bioprinting materials offer the opportunity for better bone and soft tissue repair

3D bioprinting is an advanced tissue engineering technique in which complex tissues are constructed using bioactive substances such as living cells and scaffolds. It offers personalized solutions for tissue repair and reduces immune rejection through the use of patient-specific cells.

A promising material in the field of bioprinting technology is bioactive boron-based glass (BBG). In combination with PCL or sodium alginate (SA), a carrier medium for cells and various bioactive substances, materials with high mechanical strength and good processability can be produced. BBG is particularly effective in bone regeneration, as it promotes the formation of hydroxyapatite and offers a customizable degradation rate that can be adapted to the requirements of tissue repair.

A research team led by Professor Wang Junfeng at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has utilized these properties to develop novel 3D bioprinted composite materials suitable for both bone and soft tissue repair. The results of this research have been published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.

“By leveraging the bioactivity of BBG and the customizable properties of these materials, we are offering better solutions for tissue repair,” said Prof. Wang.

By integrating BBG into an SA matrix, the team was able to develop BBG/PCL composites with different BBG contents using selective laser sintering (SLS) technology, which are specifically designed for the repair of bone defects. The evaluation of the materials’ pore geometry, porosity, mechanical strength, degradation behavior and cell compatibility revealed that the 20% BBG composite with a porosity of 68.5%, a pore size of 650 micrometers and a compressive strength of 0.860 MPa had the optimal properties for supporting bone healing.

The researchers relied on BBG-SA bioinks for the repair of soft tissue. Using extrusion-based 3D printing technology, they integrated BBG particles into sodium alginate to create bioinks with high precision and improved gelation properties. Traditional hydrogels often have problems such as low printing accuracy and significant shrinkage during gelation. The BBG-SA bioinks offered an effective solution. The optimal 0.5% BBG-SA hydrogel demonstrated excellent printability, improved structure and increased biocompatibility, which promotes cell adhesion and supports the expression of genes and proteins associated with soft tissue repair.

“Our work will significantly enhance the potential of bioactive glass in 3D bioprinting materials and provide a crucial research foundation for developing novel bio-based 3D printing materials,” said Prof. Ma Kun, one of the corresponding authors of this study.

These developments demonstrate the enormous potential of BBG in tissue engineering and mark an important advance in the production of biocompatible 3D printing materials.