Engineering Conductive Hydrogels with Tissue‐like Properties: A 3D Bioprinting and Enzymatic Polymerization Approach

Hydrogels are promising materials for medical devices interfacing with neural tissues due to their similar mechanical properties. Traditional hydrogel-based bio-interfaces lack sufficient electrical conductivity, relying on low ionic conductivity, which limits signal transduction distance. Conducting polymer hydrogels offer enhanced ionic and electronic conductivities and biocompatibility but often face challenges in processability and require aggressive polymerization methods. Herein, we demonstrate in situ enzymatic polymerization of <i>π</i>-conjugated monomers in a hyaluronan (HA)-based hydrogel bioink to create cell-compatible, electrically conductive hydrogel structures. These structures were fabricated using 3D bioprinting of HA-based bioinks loaded with conjugated monomers, followed by enzymatic polymerization via horseradish peroxidase. This process increased the hydrogels' stiffness from about 0.6 to 1.5 kPa and modified their electroactivity. The components and polymerization process were well-tolerated by human primary dermal fibroblasts and PC12 cells. This work presents a novel method to fabricate cytocompatible and conductive hydrogels suitable for bioprinting. These hybrid materials combine tissue-like mechanical properties with mixed ionic and electronic conductivity, providing new ways to use electricity to influence cell behavior in a native-like microenvironment.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Small Science
Published
2024-09-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smsc.202400290
Citations
8
Primary Topic
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.48

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Engineering Conductive Hydrogels with Tissue‐like Properties: A 3D Bioprinting and Enzymatic Polymerization Approach

Daniel T. Simon, Caroline Lindholm, Marios Savvakis, Changbai Li et al.
8 citations
Small Science
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
1.48
article

Engineering Conductive Hydrogels with Tissue‐like Properties: A 3D Bioprinting and Enzymatic Polymerization Approach

Daniel T. Simon, Caroline Lindholm, Marios Savvakis, Changbai Li, Daniel Aili, Jennifer Y. Gerasimov, Eva Olsson, Yangpeiqi Yi, Klas Tybrandt, Hanne Biesmans, Tobias Abrahamsson, Venkata K. Perla, Chiara Musumeci, Sajjad Naeimipour, Robert Selegård, Fatemeh Rasti Boroojeni, Mary J. Donahue, Xenofon Strakosas, Magnus Berggren, Yuyang Li, Rebecka Rilemark
article en
8 citations

Abstract

Hydrogels are promising materials for medical devices interfacing with neural tissues due to their similar mechanical properties. Traditional hydrogel-based bio-interfaces lack sufficient electrical conductivity, relying on low ionic conductivity, which limits signal transduction distance. Conducting polymer hydrogels offer enhanced ionic and electronic conductivities and biocompatibility but often face challenges in processability and require aggressive polymerization methods. Herein, we demonstrate in situ enzymatic polymerization of <i>π</i>-conjugated monomers in a hyaluronan (HA)-based hydrogel bioink to create cell-compatible, electrically conductive hydrogel structures. These structures were fabricated using 3D bioprinting of HA-based bioinks loaded with conjugated monomers, followed by enzymatic polymerization via horseradish peroxidase. This process increased the hydrogels' stiffness from about 0.6 to 1.5 kPa and modified their electroactivity. The components and polymerization process were well-tolerated by human primary dermal fibroblasts and PC12 cells. This work presents a novel method to fabricate cytocompatible and conductive hydrogels suitable for bioprinting. These hybrid materials combine tissue-like mechanical properties with mixed ionic and electronic conductivity, providing new ways to use electricity to influence cell behavior in a native-like microenvironment.

Small ScienceVol. 4(11)
Linköping University (SE), Central European Institute of Technology (CZ), Brno University of Technology (CZ), Chalmers University of Technology (SE)
Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning, Grantová Agentura České Republiky, Linköpings Universitet, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Vetenskapsrådet, European Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
3D Printing in Biomedical Research
1.48
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.