Development of highly thixotropic gelatin-based bio-inks for 3D bioprinting

The advancement of tissue engineering has allowed the regeneration of damaged tissues or failing organ by involving three dimensional (3D) bioprinting that fabricates three-dimensional tissue-like structures, which are made from biomaterials with cells encapsulated in a cell laden hydrogels, also known as “bio-inks”. Gelatin-based hydrogels, in particular, has been gaining attention in the tissue engineering field because they are reasonably cheap with good biodegradability and biocompatibility and lower antigenicity properties. However, they have high solubility and rapid degradation rates at physiological temperature (37oC). The gelatin-based hydrogels mostly involve further chemical crosslinking mechanisms to enhance their stability but at the expense of harming the living cells. Hence, the objective of this project is to develop a thermally stable gelatin-based bio-inks that exhibit high printability, good compatibility for cell culture studies in long term. The development of highly thixotropic gelatin-based hydrogels will significantly impact the field of tissue engineering with its capability of supporting cell adhesion, migration and differentiation.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering