Freeform reversible embedding of suspended hydrogels enables three-dimensional printing of soft extracellular matrix biopolymers in biomimetic structures.

Mechanics is an important component in the regulation of cell shape, proliferation, migration and differentiation during normal homeostasis and disease states. Biomaterials that match the elastic modulus of soft tissues have been effective for studying this cell mechanobiology, but improvements are needed in order to investigate a wider range of physicochemical properties in a controlled manner. We hypothesized that polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) blends could be used as the basis of a tunable system where the elastic modulus could be adjusted to match most types of soft tissue. To test this we formulated blends of two commercially available PDMS types, Sylgard 527 and Sylgard 184, which enabled us to fabricate substrates with an elastic modulus anywhere from 5 kPa up to 1.72 MPa. This is a three order-of-magnitude range of tunability, exceeding what is possible with other hydrogel and PDMS systems. Uniquely, the elastic modulus can be controlled independently of other materials properties including surface roughness, surface energy and the ability to functionalize the surface by protein adsorption and microcontact printing. For biological validation, PC12 (neuronal inducible-pheochromocytoma cell line) and C2C12 (muscle cell line) were used to demonstrate that these PDMS formulations support cell attachment and growth and that these substrates can be used to probe the mechanosensitivity of various cellular processes including neurite extension and muscle differentiation.

Recent advances in embedded three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting have expanded the design space for fabricating geometrically complex tissue scaffolds using hydrogels with mechanical properties comparable to native tissues and organs in the human body. The advantage of approaches such as Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH) printing is the ability to embed soft biomaterials in a thermoreversible support bath at sizes ranging from a few millimeters to centimeters. In this study, we were able to expand this printable size range by FRESH bioprinting a full-size model of an adult human heart from patient-derived magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data sets. We used alginate as the printing biomaterial to mimic the elastic modulus of cardiac tissue. In addition to achieving high print fidelity on a lowcost printer platform, FRESH-printed alginate proved to create mechanically tunable and suturable models. This demonstrates that large-scale 3D bioprinting of soft hydrogels is possible using FRESH and that cardiac tissue constructs can be produced with potential future applications in surgical training and planning.

Corneal endothelial (CE) cells do not divide in vivo, leading to edema, corneal clouding and vision loss when the density drops below a critical level. The endothelium can be replaced by transplanting allogeneic tissue; however, access to donated tissue is limited worldwide resulting in critical need for new sources of corneal grafts. In vitro expansion of CE cells is a potential solution, but is challenging due to limited proliferation and loss of phenotype in vitro via endothelial to mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and senescence. We hypothesized that a bioengineered substrate recapitulating chemo-mechanical properties of Descemet's membrane would improve the in vitro expansion of CE cells while maintaining phenotype. Results show that bovine CE cells cultured on a polydimethylsiloxane surface with elastic modulus of 50 kPa and collagen IV coating achieved >3000-fold expansion. Cells grew in higher-density monolayers with polygonal morphology and ZO-1 localization at cell-cell junctions in contrast to control cells on polystyrene that lost these phenotypic markers coupled with increased α-smooth muscle actin expression and fibronectin fibril assembly. In total, these results demonstrate that a biomimetic substrate presenting native basement membrane ECM proteins and mechanical environment may be a key element in bioengineering functional CE layers for potential therapeutic applications.