Development and Characterization of 3D Printable Caprine derived dECM/DAS Crosslinked Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

The current hydrogels and crosslinkers used in tissue engineering often suffer from limited bioactivity and insufficient mechanical strength, which hinders effective tissue regeneration. To overcome these limitations, this study aims to develop a tunable hydrogel combining caprine-derived decellularized Extracellular Matrix (dECM) and dialdehyde starch (DAS) for potential use in tissue engineering. The dECM bioink was biohybridized with varying concentration of DAS crosslinker to create dECM/DAS hydrogels and its physicochemical and biological properties were characterized. FTIR analysis confirmed DASs successful formation through a strong carbonyl peak at 1732 cm-1. The rheological characterization indicates the shear-thinning behavior for dECM/DAS. The storage modulus was higher than that of the loss modulus in all the concentrations of DAS crosslinked hydrogel compared to dECM hydrogel. The gelation kinetics show that dECM and DAS crosslinked hydrogel begin to gel at temperatures above 25{degrees}C, which is suitable for developing implantable hydrogel. The hemocompatiblity study shows that the dECM and dECM/DAS hydrogels are non-hemolytic at less than 2%. Overall, this naturally derived dECM/DAS hydrogel demonstrates the potential to be utilized for tissue engineering applications.