Amorphous Calcium Phosphate Reinforced Alginate-Dialdehyde-Gelatin (ADA-GEL) Bioink for Biofabrication of Bone Tissue Scaffolds
Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications 2025
Abhishek Rajesh Indurkar, Susanne Heid, Julian Bauer, Kristaps Rubenis, Oliver Friedrich, Jānis Ločs, Aldo R. Boccaccini

The aim of this work was to develop a nanocomposite bioink closely resembling the nanostructure of bone incorporating amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) as an inorganic counterpart, specifically, citrate stabilized ACP (ACP_CIT) and non-stabilized ACP (ACP_ACE) in an organic hydrogel matrix consisted of alginate dialdehyde-gelatin (ADA-GEL). The hydrogel's physical properties were evaluated, confirming the reinforcement effect of ACP. The frequency sweep analysis showed that G' and G" of ADA-GEL were 99 ± 9 Pa and 9 ± 1 Pa, respectively. By the addition of ACP_ACE, G' and G" increased. Overall, the viscoelastic and mechanical properties of ADA-GEL hydrogel were enhanced by ACP. ACP_CIT was more effective than ACP_ACE. Further, printing parameters were optimized. The bioink was formulated by embedding MC3T3-E1 cells in ADA-GEL and ACP-reinforced ADA-GEL hydrogels, followed by fabricating scaffolds at optimized printing parameters (pressure: 65 kPa, speed: 5 mm/s). Crosslinking was performed by immersing constructs in CaCl2 and microbial transglutaminase solution. Post-printing analysis was performed using the printability index and average pore area analysis. The lowest structural stability was observed in ADA-GEL constructs. The highest structural stability was noted in ADA-GEL-ACP_CIT constructs. Epifluorescence and two-photon microscopy of Rhodamine/Phalloidin stained constructs confirmed the cytocompatibility of the bioinks.


DOI
10.1016/j.carpta.2025.100710
Hyperlink
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666893925000490

Indurkar, A., Heid, S., Bauer, J., Rubenis, K., Friedrich, O., Ločs, J., Boccaccini, A. Amorphous Calcium Phosphate Reinforced Alginate-Dialdehyde-Gelatin (ADA-GEL) Bioink for Biofabrication of Bone Tissue Scaffolds. Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications, 2025, Vol. 9, pp.1-12. e-ISSN 2666-8939. Available from: doi:10.1016/j.carpta.2025.100710

Publication language
English (en)
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