Engineering complex tissues that can mimic, augment, or replace native tissue functions holds enormous potential for treating organ failures resulting from injuries, aging, and diseases. 3D bioprinting is an emerging approach for rapid fabrication of complex tissue structures using cell-loaded hydrogels, called bioinks. However, 3D bioprinting has hit a bottleneck in progress due to the lack of suitable bioinks that are printable and can guide cell functions. This project focuses on designing a novel family of nanoengineered ionic-covalent entanglement (NICE) bioinks for 3D-printing. The NICE bioink combines two approaches - nanocomposites using 2D nanosilicates and ICE networks formed from gelatin methacrylate (a collagen based bioink often used in bioprinting) and k-carrageenan (a polysaccharide based gel often used for thickening and stabiliazation) - to achieve mechanical properties superior to either approach alone. This work will lead to a novel platform technology to selectively control and pattern cell behavior that will have broad scientific impact on human health; specifically, regenerative engineering and therapeutic delivery. The development of a new family of bioinks will also spur growth in biofabrication, leading to positive impacts on society and the national economy. The integrated multidisciplinary research platform will provide a unique environment to attract, motivate, and retain students, particularly underrepresented groups, in science and engineering education. The project will provide educational and outreach opportunities through a diverse array of K-12 activities, including: development of educational screencasts; training teachers; engaging local schools in after-school programs; and hosting high school students for research. Specifically, a range of educational and research screencasts will be developed to engage and promote awareness about nanomaterials, and bioprinting. Outreach will be extended by sharing and distributing the screencasts via popular social media sites (including blogs, Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest, SlideShare, Twitter, Vimeo, and YouTube) and by interacting with online K-12 video portals such as Khan Academy.

This project addresses a key challenge in biomedical engineering - how to engineering three-dimensional complex structures consisting of biomolecules, cells, and scaffolds - by designing a novel family of nanoengineered ionic-covalent entanglement (NICE) bioinks for 3D-printing to control and pattern cell behavior. The approach taken will elucidate key fundamental properties of ionic covalent entanglement (ICE) networks loaded with unique, two-dimensional (2D) nanosilicates. The research will reveal the interactions among nanomaterials, growth factors, and human cells, paving the way for novel nanoengineered approaches to harness and augment these interactions. Intellectual contributions include: 1) introducing a novel material design (NICE) to form shear-thinning bioinks, using 2D nanomaterials and ionic-covalent entanglement (ICE), will enable deposition of cells in complex 3D structures which in turn will advance understanding and knowledge of cell-biomaterial interactions in complex microenvironments; 2) Elucidating interactions between 2D nanosilicates and the ICE network will advance fundamental understanding for leveraging non-covalent interactions to mechanically reinforce hydrogel networks; 3) establishing 2D nanosilicates as a modular approach for plug-and-play types of therapeutics delivery will be facilitated by eliminating complex chemical modification of labile therapeutics. Understanding the interactions between 2D nanomaterials and biomolecules will provide insight into retaining bioactivity of labile therapeutics for prolonged durations and will lead to discovery of new phenomena; and 4) establishing a new paradigm for sustained and effective delivery of therapeutics to modulate the cellular function will ultimately lead to development of more effective delivery systems.

Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2017-08-15
Budget End
2021-07-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
$300,000
Indirect Cost
Name
Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
College Station
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77845