Issue 39, 2023

Remodeling arteries: studying the mechanical properties of 3D-bioprinted hybrid photoresponsive materials

Abstract

3D-printed cell models are currently in the spotlight of medical research. Whilst significant advances have been made, there are still aspects that require attention to achieve more realistic models which faithfully represent the in vivo environment. In this work we describe the production of an artery model with cyclic expansive properties, capable of mimicking the different physical forces and stress factors that cells experience in physiological conditions. The artery wall components are reproduced using 3D printing of thermoresponsive polymers with inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) representing the outer tunica adventitia, smooth muscle cells embedded in extracellular matrix representing the tunica media, and finally a monolayer of endothelial cells as the tunica intima. Cyclic expansion can be induced thanks to the inclusion of photo-responsive plasmonic NPs embedded within the thermoresponsive ink composition, resulting in changes in the thermoresponsive polymer hydration state and hence volume, in a stimulated on–off manner. By changing the thermoresponsive polymer composition, the transition temperature and pulsatility can be efficiently tuned. We show the direct effect of cyclic expansion and contraction on the overlying cell layers by analyzing transcriptional changes in mechanoresponsive mesenchymal genes associated with such microenvironmental physical cues. The technique described herein involving stimuli-responsive 3D printed tissue constructs, also described as four- dimensional (4D) printing, offers a novel approach for the production of dynamic biomodels.

Graphical abstract: Remodeling arteries: studying the mechanical properties of 3D-bioprinted hybrid photoresponsive materials

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 iyn 2023
Accepted
14 avq 2023
First published
01 sen 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023,11, 9431-9442

Remodeling arteries: studying the mechanical properties of 3D-bioprinted hybrid photoresponsive materials

U. Aizarna-Lopetegui, C. García-Astrain, C. Renero-Lecuna, P. González-Callejo, I. Villaluenga, M. A. del Pozo, M. Sánchez-Álvarez, M. Henriksen-Lacey and D. Jimenez de Aberasturi, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023, 11, 9431 DOI: 10.1039/D3TB01480K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements