Page 112 - IJB-9-2

International Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
A novel photocurable pullulan-based bioink for

digital light processing 3D printing

Zhaoxuan Feng , Jinsong Li , Dasen Zhou , Hui Song , Jiaqi Lv *,
1,2
3,4
1,2
3,4
1,2
Wenqin Bai *
1,2
1 CAS Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
2 National Center of Technology Innovation for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China
3 Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
4 Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment, Tianjin 300401, China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Novel Materials and Processing for Medical 3D Printing and Bioprinting)

Abstract

Digital light processing has significant advantages, such as high repeatability, low
failure rate, and no extrusion shear force. To make it possible to print complex
structures with high resolution, the consecutive development of photocurable
ink materials is indispensable. In this work, photo-functionalized pullulan (Pul-NB)
was prepared by introducing norbornene groups into pullulan chains, and an ink
material suitable for photocurable printing was prepared by thiol-ene click reaction.
The rheology, water absorption, and mechanical properties of the Pul-NB precursor
solution and photocurable hydrogel were investigated. The optimal composition of
Pul-NB ink for three-dimensional (3D) printing was obtained by adjusting the degree
of substitution, Pul-NB concentration, and thiol crosslinking agent. This novel bioink
*Corresponding author: for digital light processing 3D printing showed good printability and high shape
Wenqin Bai (baiwq@tib.cas.cn) fidelity. This ink material provides an excellent alternative for printing biomimetic
Jiaqi Lv (lvjiaqi@hebut.edu.cn) soft tissue organs, high-throughput tissue models, soft robots, etc.
Citation: Feng Z, Li J, Zhou D,
et al., 2023, A novel photocurable
pullulan-based bioink for digital Keywords: Photo-curable; Pullulan; Three-dimensional printing; Click reaction;
light processing 3D printing. Int J Hydrogels
Bioprint, 9(2): 657.
https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.v9i2.657
Received: August 15, 2022
Accepted: October 03, 2022 1. Introduction
Published Online: December 29,
2022 Three-dimensional (3D) printing inks based on hydrogels play a key role in the design
Copyright: © 2022 Author(s). and creation of advanced functional biosystems as they can mimic the properties of
This is an Open Access article the extracellular matrix [1,2] . In addition, the 3D network and the liquid inside of
distributed under the terms of the
[3]
Creative Commons Attribution hydrogel endow characteristics similar to those of soft tissues . Therefore, compared to
License, permitting distribution thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics, hydrogels appear to be the best class of ink
and reproduction in any medium, materials for 3D bioprinting [4,5] . Various synthetic and natural materials-based hydrogels
provided the original work is
properly cited. have been developed for bioprinting [6-11] .
Publisher’s Note: Whioce Natural polymers are derived from various organisms, including human, animals,
Publishing remains neutral with plants, and microorganism. Hydrogels made from natural polymers like polysaccharide
regard to jurisdictional claims in [8,12-15]
published maps and institutional (agarose, alginate, carrageenan, cellulose, and chitosan) , glycosaminoglycan
affiliations. (chondroitin sulfate, heparin, and hyaluronic acid) [16-19] , and polypeptide/protein

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2023) 104 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.v9i2.657