Development and characterization of an automated active mixing platform for hydrogel bioink preparation

Authors

  • Jiannan Li Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, 240 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA94304, USA
  • Tara Shelby Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, 240 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA94304, USA
  • Hossein Vahid Alizadeh Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, 240 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA94304, USA
  • Hannah Shelby Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, 240 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA94304, USA
  • Yunzhi Peter Yang Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, 240 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA94304, USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, 496 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA94305, USA; Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA94305, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.705

Keywords:

Bioprinting, Hydrogel, Tissue engineering, Bioink, Biomaterials

Abstract

Bioink preparation is an important yet challenging step for bioprinting with hydrogels, as it involves fast and homogeneous mixing of various viscous components. In this study, we have developed an automated active mixing platform (AAMP), which allows for high-quality preparation of hydrogel bioinks. The design of AAMP, adapted from syringe pumps, provides many advantages, including low cost, automated control, high precision, customizability, and great cytocompatibility, as well as the potential to intelligently detect the homogeneity. To demonstrate the capability of AAMP, mixing of different hydrogel components, including alginate and xanthan gum with and without Ca2+, alginate and Laponite, PEGDMA and xanthan gum, was performed to investigate an alginate hydrogel preparation process. Colorimetric analyses were carried out to evaluate the mixing outcome with AAMP. Result showed that AAMP can prepare homogeneous hydrogel mixing in a fast and automated fashion. A  multiphysics COMSOL simulation is carried out to further validate the results. Moreover, cell viability and proliferation study were performed in a cell encapsulation mixing experiment to validate the cytocompatibility of the AAMP. The AAMP has demonstrated great capability in hydrogel bioink preparation and could therefore holds great promise and wide applications in bioprinting and tissue engineering.

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Published

2023-03-10

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 4 (2023): International Journal of Bioprinting

Section

Short Communication

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