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International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Dual-strategy modification for three-

dimensional-printed silk methacryloyl hydrogels:
Nanofiber reinforcement and poly(ethylene

oxide)-induced porosity

Bingxue Xv † id , Xin An † id , Ning Zhou , Wenxin Meng , Yvmeng Luo ,
id
id
id
and Guomin Wu* id
College & Hospital of Stomatology, Anhui Medical University, Key Lab. of Oral Diseases Research
of Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China.

Abstract

Hydrogels have emerged as promising scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering
† These authors contributed equally due to their structural mimicry of native articular cartilage extracellular matrix.
to this work. However, conventional hydrogels typically exhibit only nanoscale porosity and poor
*Corresponding author: mechanical properties, which limit nutrient delivery, metabolic waste exchange, and
Guomin Wu structural fidelity. To address these challenges, we developed an innovative cell-laden
(wuguomin@ahmu.edu.cn) porous silk methacryloyl (SilMA) hydrogel system with biomechanical reinforcement

Citation: Xv B, An X, Zhou N, using three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting. The porous architecture was created

Meng W, Luo Y, Wu G. through a water-in-water emulsification strategy employing poly(ethylene oxide)

Dual-strategy modification for
three-dimensional-printed silk (PEO) as a sacrificial template. This pore-forming process resulted in a remarkable
methacryloyl hydrogels: Nanofiber structural modulation, achieving an increase of over 100% in average pore diameter
reinforcement and poly(ethylene and a 75% enhancement in overall porosity compared to hydrogels without PEO.
oxide)-induced porosity.
Int J Bioprint. 2025;11(4):278-296. However, this structural modification compromised the compressive modulus by
doi: 10.36922/IJB025140118 approximately 50%. Therefore, homogenized electrospun silk fibroin nanofibers
(NFs) were incorporated into the bio-ink to improve the mechanical properties
Received: April 1, 2025
1st revised: May 10, 2025 and optimize surface topography. The introduction of NFs (1–2 wt%) not only
Accepted: May 19, 2025 recovered the compressive strength and modulus (close to SilMA hydrogels) but
Published Online: May 19, 2025 also improved the 3D printability of PEO/SilMA hydrogels. Additionally, the hydrogel
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and markedly upregulated expression of
This is an Open Access article chondrogenic-related genes, including COL2A1, ACAN, and SOX9. Furthermore, the
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution subcutaneous implantation experiments in non-obese diabetic/severe combined
License, permitting distribution, immunodeficiency mice further confirmed the potential of PEO/NF/SilMA hydrogels
and reproduction in any medium, in promoting cartilage formation. Therefore, this study proposes a promising dual-
provided the original work is
properly cited. strategy approach for cartilage tissue engineering, integrating NFs reinforcement
and PEO-induced porosity.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Keywords: Cartilage regeneration; Electrospun nanofiber; Poly(ethylene oxide);
affiliations. Silk methacryloyl; Three-dimensional bioprinting.

Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 278 doi: 10.36922/IJB025140118