Natural-Based Nanocomposite Ink Engineering for Seamless Multi-Material Integration in Extrusion-Based 3D Printing.

Multi-tissue regeneration remains a critical clinical challenge due to the lack of solutions that can replicate the hierarchical heterogeneity of such complex interfaces. While biofabrication approaches, such as extrusion-based, allow replicating robust, biomimetic, and layered designs, constructs are usually hindered by inadequate phase/layer integration, poor filler dispersion, and mismatched rheological and mechanical performances. This study introduces an ink engineering strategy as a solution for integrating natural-based nanocomposites in multi-tissue regenerative approaches.

Engineering natural based nanocomposite inks via interface interaction for extrusion 3D printing.

Nanocomposites and low-viscous materials lack translation in additive manufacturing technologies due to deficiency in rheological requirements and heterogeneity of their preparation. This work proposes the chemical crosslinking between composing phases as a universal approach for mitigating such issues. The model system is composed of amine-functionalized bioactive glass nanoparticles (BGNP) and light-responsive methacrylated bovine serum albumin (BSAMA) which further allows post-print photocrosslinking.