Photoprintable Radiopaque Hydrogels for Regenerative Medicine
Ondřej Groborz, Kristýna Kolouchová, Laurens Parmentier, Anna Szabó, Bo Van Durme, David J. Dunlop, Tomáš Slanina, Sandra Van Vlierberghe
Abstract
Biodegradable and bioactive gelatin-based hydrogels improve tissue regeneration and wound healing by supporting cell proliferation. Suitably functionalized gelatin hydrogels can even be processed by light-based 3D printing into any required shape, and their physicochemical and biological properties can be modified by incorporating various comonomers into their structure. However, such hydrogels are difficult to monitor in vivo, which has hampered further developments and clinical translation. Herein, we prepared gelatin-based hydrogels with radiopacity by incorporation with biocompatible and radiopaque comonomer 5-acrylamido-2,4,6-triiodoisophthalic acid (AATIPA) and processing through light-based additive manufacturing. Our results showed that adding AATIPA to the reaction mixture significantly accelerates light-induced cross-linking and improves the storage modulus ( G ′) and swelling ratio (SR) of the cross-linked hydrogels, providing them with radiopacity for in vivo monitoring by X-ray and computed tomography (CT). Because these AATIPA-containing gelatin-based hydrogels are noncytotoxic and support cell proliferation, they offer a cost-effective and versatile, 3D-printable platform with tunable radiopacity for biomedical applications. Therefore, our findings pave the way toward the clinical translation of photo-cross-linked 3D-printed hydrogels into tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.