A major challenge in tissue engineering is to provide oxygen to cells within implanted tissues before vascularization is achieved. To overcome the limitations, oxygen generating materials have been developed to enhance cell proliferation. However, these methods provide an uneven oxygen distribution. Inkjet bioprinting technology is a novel fabrication approach, in which the bioprinter can deposit biomaterials precisely in a designed path. This technology has been applied in this study to construct oxygen-generating scaffolds. In this study we have applied the inkjet printing technology to allocate calcium peroxide (CPO) in a controlled pattern. The CPO was encapsulated with a hydrogel to provide a progressive oxygen release to cells. Oxygenized scaffolds were utilized searching for optimal cell viability in a period of 10 days under hypoxic environment. The results suggested that scaffolds containing CPO increase cell viability and proliferation in comparison to control group (no CPO) under hypoxic environment along 10 days. In consequence, the designed inkjet printing patterns provided a functional oxygen supply to scaffolds.
Daniel Reyna, Jorge I. Rodriguez-Devora, Mohammod Bhuyan, Thomas Boland, "Inkjet Bioprinting of Solid Peroxide Microparticles for Constructing Oxygen-Generating Scaffolds" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies and Digital Fabrication (NIP29), 2013, pp 240 - 243, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2013.29.1.art00064_1