Indirect three-dimensional printing: A method for fabricating polyurethane-urea based cardiac scaffolds

• Published in: Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A Vol. 104; no. 8; pp. 1912 - 1921
• Main Authors: Hernández-Córdova, R., Mathew, D.A., Balint, R., Carrillo-Escalante, H.J., Cervantes-Uc, J.M., Hidalgo-Bastida, L.A., Hernández-Sánchez, F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-08-2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: 3D printing; Biocompatibility; Biomedical materials; cardiac tissue engineering; Cell Adhesion; Cell Aggregation; Cell Survival; Compressive Strength; DNA - analysis; Heart - physiology; Humans; indirect 3D printing; Materials Testing; Mechanical properties; Microscopy, Confocal; Myocytes, Cardiac - cytology; Nucleation; Original; Perfusion; polyurethane-urea; Polyurethanes - chemistry; Polyvinyl Alcohol - chemistry; Porosity; Printing, Three-Dimensional; rapid prototyping; scaffold fabrication; Scaffolds; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Surgical implants; Tensile Strength; Tissue engineering; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; cardiac tissue engineering; indirect 3D printing; polyurethane-urea; rapid prototyping; scaffold fabrication
• ISSN: 1549-3296; 1552-4965
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.35721

Biomaterial scaffolds are a key part of cardiac tissue engineering therapies. The group has recently synthesized a novel polycaprolactone based polyurethane‐urea copolymer that showed improved mechanical properties compared with its previously published counterparts. The aim of this study was to explore whether indirect three‐dimensional (3D) printing could provide a means to fabricate this novel, biodegradable polymer into a scaffold suitable for cardiac tissue engineering. Indirect 3D printing was carried out through printing water dissolvable poly(vinyl alcohol) porogens in three different sizes based on a wood‐stack model, into which a polyurethane‐urea solution was pressure injected. The porogens were removed, leading to soft polyurethane‐urea scaffolds with regular tubular pores. The scaffolds were characterized for their compressive and tensile mechanical behavior; and their degradation was monitored for 12 months under simulated physiological conditions. Their compatibility with cardiac myocytes and performance in novel cardiac engineering‐related techniques, such as aggregate seeding and bi‐directional perfusion, was also assessed. The scaffolds were found to have mechanical properties similar to cardiac tissue, and good biocompatibility with cardiac myocytes. Furthermore, the incorporated cells preserved their phenotype with no signs of de‐differentiation. The constructs worked well in perfusion experiments, showing enhanced seeding efficiency. © 2016 The Authors Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 1912–1921, 2016.