Preparation of a 3D printable high-performance GelMA hydrogel loading with magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

Yiwan Shi; Zhaozhen Wang; Xinting Zhou; Chengxiong Lin; Chao Chen; Botao Gao; Weikang Xu; Xiaofei Zheng; Tingting Wu; Huajun Wang

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1132192

Preparation of a 3D printable high-performance GelMA hydrogel loading with magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Mar 2:11:1132192. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1132192. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yiwan Shi^{1

2}, Zhaozhen Wang^{1

2}, Xinting Zhou², Chengxiong Lin², Chao Chen³, Botao Gao², Weikang Xu², Xiaofei Zheng¹, Tingting Wu², Huajun Wang^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bone and Joint Surgery and Sports Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
² National Engineering Research Center for Healthcare Devices, Guangdong Key Lab of Medical Electronic Instruments and Polymer Material Products, Institute of Biological And Medical Engineering, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Orthopedics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ The Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Basic and Translational Research on Chronic Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Osteosarcoma remains a worldwide concern due to the poor effectiveness of available therapies in the clinic. Therefore, it is necessary to find a safe and effective therapy to realize the complete resection of osteosarcoma and reconstruction of the bone defect. Magnetic hyperthermia based on magnetic nanoparticles can kill tumor cells by raising the temperature without causing the side effects of conventional cancer treatments. This research aims to design a high-performance magnetic hydrogel composed of gelatin methacrylate and highly magnetic cobalt ferrite (CFO) nanoparticles for osteosarcoma treatment. Specifically, CFO is surface functionalized with methacrylate groups (MeCFO). The surface modified CFO has good biocompatibility and stable solution dispersion ability. Afterward, MeCFO nanoparticles are incorporated into GelMA to fabricate a three-dimensional (3D) printable MeCFO/GelMA magnetic hydrogel and then photocross-linked by UV radiation. MeCFO/GelMA hydrogel has high porosity and swelling ability, indicating that the hydrogel possesses more space and good hydrophily for cell survival. The rheological results showed that the hydrogel has shear thinning property, which is suitable as a bioprinting ink to produce desired structures by a 3D printer. Furthermore, 50 μg/mL MeCFO not only decreases the cell activity of osteosarcoma cells but also promotes the osteogenic differentiation of mBMSCs. The results of the CCK-8 assay and live/dead staining showed that MeCFO/GelMA hydrogel had good cytocompatibility. These results indicated that MeCFO/GelMA hydrogel with potential antitumor and bone reconstruction functions is a promising therapeutic strategy after osteosarcoma resection.

Keywords: GelMA; cobalt ferrite nanoparticles; hydrogel; magnetic hyperthermia; osteosarcoma.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Special Fund Project for Guangdong Academy of Sciences to Build First Class Research Institutions in China (2019GDASYL-0102004/0103018, 2020GDASYL-20200102005, 2021GDASYL-20210102004), Research and Development Plans in Key Areas of Guangdong Province (2020B1111560001), Guangzhou Key R&D Projects (202206010158) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82172440, 52102343), GDAS’ Project of Science and Technology Development (2022GDASZH-2022010110), Guangzhou Science and Technology Program (202206010158, 202201020087), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (21621103), the Clinical Frontier Technology Program of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University (No. JNU1AF-CFTP-2022-a01204), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFE0206200).