Bioactive gyroid scaffolds formed by sacrificial templating of nanocellulose and nanochitin hydrogels as instructive platforms for biomimetic tissue engineering

Abstract

A sacrificial templating process using lithographically printed minimal surface structures allows complex de novo geo-metries of delicate hydrogel materials. The hydrogel scaffolds based on cellulose and chitin nanofibrils show differences in terms of attachment of human mesenchymal stem cells, and allow their differentiation into osteogenic outcomes. The approach here serves as a first example toward designer hydrogel scaffolds viable for biomimetic tissue engineering.

Keywords: 3D printing; cellulose nanofibrils; chitin nanofibrils; hydrogel scaffolds; stem cells.