An Inverse Thermogelling Bioink Based on an ABA Type Poly(2-Oxazoline) Amphiphile

Abstract

Hydrogels are key components in several biomedical research areas such as biofabrication. Here, a novel ABA-type triblock copolymer is introduced that undergoes a inverse thermogelation, i.e. it forms a hydrogel about cooling aqueous polymer solutions. The macroporous hydrogel was rheologically investigate in detail and used for 3D printing using an extrusion based printer. Preliminary experiment show very good cytocompatibility of NIH 3T3 cells also after printing and the possibility to combine the novel material with other hydrogel forming materials such as alginate.<br>

Tuning the Thermogelation and Rheology of Poly(2-Oxazoline)/Poly(2-Oxazine)s Based Thermosensitive Hydrogels for 3D Bioprinting

“…More recently, Lübtow et al reported on the development of ABA triblock copolymer comprised of pMeOx (A) and poly(2-iso-butyl-2-oxazoline) (p i BuOx) (B) which form thermogels at 20 wt.% but its rheological characteristics, in particular its low yield stress were not conducive for extrusion-based 3D printing [ 48 ]. In addition, Hahn et al reported on several ABA POx/POzi-based triblock copolymers exhibiting inverse gelation [ 6 , 61 ].…”