Development of Structured Hydrogel Ink Based on Sodium Alginate for 3d Printing

Extrusion-based 3D printing methods are widely used to fabricate tissue-engineered constructs for regenerative medicine with specific dimensions, shapes, and properties tailored to the nature of the wound defect. High-viscosity solutions of the anionic polysaccharide sodium alginate show a potential as a base material for developing hydrogel inks for 3D printing. However, printing with sodium alginate solutions presents technical challenges due to the need for rapid gelation immediately after extrusion to form an elastic gel. This study demonstrates the possibility of controlling the viscosity of sodium alginate solutions by introducing a gelation modifier - ferulic acid, which participates in the formation of an entanglement network. Using IR spectroscopy, the nature of interactions in alginate-based materials obtained in the presence of ferulic acid was investigated. The conditions for producing highly hydrated gel structures based on an ionogenic polysaccharide solution and ferulic acid were optimised using piston-based 3D printing.