3D bioprinting of human mesenchymal stem cells-laden hydrogels incorporating MXene for spontaneous osteodifferentiation

Seok Hyun Lee; Moon Sung Kang; Sangheon Jeon; Hyo Jung Jo; Suck Won Hong; Bongju Kim; Dong-Wook Han

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14490

3D bioprinting of human mesenchymal stem cells-laden hydrogels incorporating MXene for spontaneous osteodifferentiation

Heliyon. 2023 Mar 11;9(3):e14490. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14490. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Seok Hyun Lee¹, Moon Sung Kang¹, Sangheon Jeon¹, Hyo Jung Jo¹, Suck Won Hong^{1

2}, Bongju Kim³, Dong-Wook Han^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering, College of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea.
² Engineering Research Center for Color-Modulated Extra-Sensory Perception Technology, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea.
³ Dental Life Science Research Institute / Innovation Research & Support Center for Dental Science, Seoul 8 National University Dental Hospital, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea.
⁴ BIO-IT Fusion Technology Research Institute, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Contemporary advances in three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technologies have enabled the fabrication of tailored live 3D tissue mimetics. Furthermore, the development of advanced bioink materials has been highlighted to accurately reproduce the composition of a native extracellular matrix and mimic the intrinsic properties of laden cells. Recent research has shown that MXene is one of promising nanobiomaterials with osteogenic activity for bone grafts and scaffolds due to its unique atomic structure of three titanium layers between two carbon layers. In this study, the MXene-incorporated gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and hyaluronic acid methacryloyl (HAMA) (i.e., GelMA/HAMA-MXene) bioinks were prepared to explore if they have the potential to enable the spontaneous osteodifferentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) when the hMSCs-laden GelMA/HAMA-MXene bioinks were 3D printed. The physicochemical and rheological characteristics of the GelMA/HAMA-MXene hydrogels were proven to be unprecedentedly favorable supportive matrices suited for the growth and survival of hMSCs. Furthermore, hMSCs were shown to spontaneously differentiate into osteoblasts within GelMA-HAMA/MXene composites to provide favorable microenvironments for osteogenesis. Therefore, our results suggest that the remarkable biofunctional advantages of the MXene-incorporated GelMA/HAMA bioink can be utilized in a wide range of strategies for the development of effective scaffolds in bone tissue regeneration.

Keywords: 3D bioprinting; Bioink; Bone tissue engineering; Extracellular matrix; Hydrogels; MXene; Mesenchymal stem cells; Nanobiomaterials; Osteodifferentiation.